sana vs semana, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“sana” is an adjective and “semana” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,345
“sana” frequency rank: #230
“semana” frequency rank: 30575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sana	semana
Definition	feminino de sano	período de sete dias, com um dia de feriado de cunho religioso: sábado para os judeus, domingo para os cristãos e sexta-feira para os muçulmanos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sana and semana apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

sana

6 ch

semana

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sana is /ˈsã.nɐ/ while semana is /sɨ.ˈmɐ.nɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sana is recorded at frequency rank #30,345, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsã.nɐ/. semana is at rank #230, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɨ.ˈmɐ.nɐ/.

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 30575, this pair ranks #37,726 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sana vs semana

Shared letters: ans. Private to "sana": -. Private to "semana": em.

"sana" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "semana" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

sana ← asna · saan · sanna · snaa · ssana
semana ← esmana · seamna · semaan · semanna · semmana · semnaa · smeana · ssemana

Frequency comparison

sana#30,345

semana#230

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sana" and "semana" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sana" is an adjective and "semana" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "sana" or "semana"?

"semana" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #230 in our Portuguese list, against #30,345 for "sana". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sana vs semana

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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