Which to use
“same” is an adjective and “sem” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,027
- “same” frequency rank
- #69
- “sem” frequency rank
- 14096
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | same | sem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relativo ao povo same, que habita partes da Finlândia, da Noruega, da Suécia e da Rússia | indicativa de carência ou ausência |
Where the eye mixes same and sem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between same and sem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: same is /ˈsa.mi/ while sem is /sɐ̃j̃/. 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 (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
same is recorded at frequency rank #14,027, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsa.mi/. sem is at rank #69, tagged as aprep, pronounced /sɐ̃j̃/.
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 14096, this pair ranks #58,083 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of same vs sem
Shared letters: ems. Private to "same": a. Private to "sem": -.
"same" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- same ← asme · saem · samme · smae · ssame
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "same" and "sem" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "same" or "sem" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "same" and "sem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "same" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,083 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "same" and "sem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "same 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 #58,083 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.