saiu vs sou, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,035
“saiu” frequency rank: #106
“sou” frequency rank: 1141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	saiu	sou
Definition	Terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo sair.	primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ser

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

saiu

3 ch

sou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

saiu and sou are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

saiu is recorded at frequency rank #1,035, classified as averb. sou is at rank #106, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsow/, /ˈso/.

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 1141, this pair ranks #74,476 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of saiu vs sou

Shared letters: su. Private to "saiu": ai. Private to "sou": o.

"saiu" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "sou" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

saiu ← asiu · saui · siau · ssaiu

Frequency comparison

saiu#1,035

sou#106

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

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

"sou" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #106 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 sou

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 “saiu” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable