Which to use
“são” is an adjective and “sem” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34
- “são” frequency rank
- #69
- “sem” frequency rank
- 103
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | são | sem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | saudável | indicativa de carência ou ausência |
Where the eye mixes são and sem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between são and sem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: são is /ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while sem is /sɐ̃j̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
são is recorded at frequency rank #34, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃w̃/. 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 103, this pair ranks #75,553 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of são vs sem
Shared letters: s. Private to "são": oã. Private to "sem": em.
"são" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "são" and "sem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "são" or "sem"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "são" 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 #75,553 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "são" and "sem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "são vs soap". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,553 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.