Which to use
“safe” is a verb and “são” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,193
- “safe” frequency rank
- #34
- “são” frequency rank
- 26227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | safe | são |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira ou terceira pessoa do presente subjuntivo de safar | saudável |
Where the eye mixes safe and são
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: safe vs são
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: safe is /seɪf/, enPR: sāf while são is /ˈsɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
safe is recorded at frequency rank #26,193, classified as averb, pronounced /seɪf/, enPR: sāf. são is at rank #34, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 26227, this pair ranks #42,960 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of safe vs são
Shared letters: s. Private to "safe": aef. Private to "são": oã.
"safe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "são" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- safe ← asfe · saef · saffe · sfae · ssafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "safe" for "são" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "safe" or "são" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "safe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "são" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,960 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "safe" and "são" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "safe vs Sau". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #42,960 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.