sãovssetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: são is a adjective, set is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#34
“são” frequency rank
#4,348
“set” frequency rank
4382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature são set
Definition saudável conjunto

Letter map: são vs set

Shared letters muted; letters that set são and set apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
são
3 ch
set

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: são is anadjective and setanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

são is recorded at frequency rank #34, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃w̃/. set is at rank #4,348, tagged as anoun.

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 4382, this pair ranks #70,547 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of são vs set

Shared letters: s. Private to "são": . Private to "set": et.

"são" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "set" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "são" and "set" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "são" is an adjective and "set" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "são" or "set"?
"são" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34 in our Portuguese list, against #4,348 for "set". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "são" and "set". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "são" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "set" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,547 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "são" and "set" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs set". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list