saiu vs sim, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,035
“saiu” frequency rank: #147
“sim” frequency rank: 1182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	saiu	sim
Definition	Terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo sair.	exprime afirmação, acordo, aprovação, permissão ou consentimento

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

saiu

3 ch

sim

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: saiu is averb and simanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

saiu is recorded at frequency rank #1,035, classified as averb. 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 1182, this pair ranks #74,420 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of saiu vs sim

Shared letters: is. Private to "saiu": au. Private to "sim": m.

"saiu" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "sim" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

saiu ← asiu · saui · siau · ssaiu

Frequency comparison

saiu#1,035

sim#147

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "saiu" and "sim" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "saiu" is a verb and "sim" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "saiu" or "sim"?

"sim" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #147 in our Portuguese list, against #1,035 for "saiu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering saiu vs sim

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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