Which to use
“são” is an adjective and “sei” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34
- “são” frequency rank
- #118
- “sei” frequency rank
- 152
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | são | sei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | saudável | expressa que aquilo ouvido que foi dito ou afirmado por alguém não é tomado como sendo a verdade |
Letter map: são vs sei
Shared letters muted; letters that set são and sei apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - são and sei
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: são is anadjective and seianintj. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
são is recorded at frequency rank #34, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃w̃/. sei is at rank #118, tagged as anintj.
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 152, this pair ranks #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of são vs sei
Shared letters: s. Private to "são": oã. Private to "sei": ei.
"são" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "são" for "sei" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "são" or "sei" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "são" and "sei".
- Full dictionary entry for "são" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "são" and "sei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "são vs soap". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.