sair vs sein, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“sair” and “sein” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#290
“sair” frequency rank: #43,647
“sein” frequency rank: 43937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sair	sein
Definition	passar de dentro para fora; deixar	ser, estar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sair and sein apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

sair

4 ch

sein

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sair (/sɐ.ˈiɾ/) and sein (/zaɪ̯n/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sair is recorded at frequency rank #290, classified as averb, pronounced /sɐ.ˈiɾ/. sein is at rank #43,647, tagged as averb, pronounced /zaɪ̯n/.

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 43937, this pair ranks #21,630 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sair vs sein

Shared letters: is. Private to "sair": ar. Private to "sein": en.

"sair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

sair ← asir · sairr · sari · siar · ssair
sein ← esin · seinn · seni · sien · ssein

Frequency comparison

sair#290

sein#43,647

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sair" and "sein" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/sɐ.ˈiɾ/ versus /zaɪ̯n/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "sair" or "sein"?

"sair" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #290 in our Portuguese list, against #43,647 for "sein". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sair vs sein

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sair” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable