Which to use
“são” is an adjective and “sme” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34
- “são” frequency rank
- #40,334
- “sme” frequency rank
- 40368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | são | sme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | saudável | primeira pessoa do plural do futuro do indicativo do verbo byť |
Letter map: são vs sme
Shared letters muted; letters that set são and sme apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. são (CVV) and sme (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Grammar separator: são vs sme
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: são is anadjective and smeaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
são is recorded at frequency rank #34, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃w̃/. sme is at rank #40,334, tagged as averb.
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 40368, this pair ranks #25,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of são vs sme
Shared letters: s. Private to "são": oã. Private to "sme": em.
"são" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sme" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "são" for "sme" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "são" or "sme" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "são" and "sme".
- Full dictionary entry for "são" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "são" and "sme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs sme". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #25,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.