vssimWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: is a noun, sim is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sã” is a noun and “sim” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,153
“sã” frequency rank
#147
“sim” frequency rank
17300
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sim
Definition tempo propício, adequado, para semear exprime afirmação, acordo, aprovação, permissão ou consentimento

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set and sim apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
sã
3 ch
sim

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: is anoun and simanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17300, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

is recorded at frequency rank #17,153, classified as anoun. sim is at rank #147, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈsĩ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 17300, this pair ranks #53,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sã vs sim

Shared letters: s. Private to "sã": ã. Private to "sim": im.

"sã" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "sim" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

#17,153
sim#147

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sã" and "sim" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sã" is a noun and "sim" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sã" or "sim"?
"sim" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #147 in our Portuguese list, against #17,153 for "sã". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sã vs sim

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sã”; for an adverb, it's “sim”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sã” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list