Which to use
“sapo” is a noun and “só” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,403
- “sapo” frequency rank
- #50
- “só” frequency rank
- 9453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sapo | só |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | refere-se à maioria dos anfíbios da ordem dos anuros que possuem pele rugosa e seca | solitário, sem companhia, sem círculo social |
Where the eye mixes sapo and só
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sapo with só
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sapo is /ˈsa.pu/ while só is /ˈsɔ/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sapo is recorded at frequency rank #9,403, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsa.pu/. só is at rank #50, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɔ/.
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 9453, this pair ranks #63,975 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sapo vs só
Shared letters: s. Private to "sapo": aop. Private to "só": ó.
"sapo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "só" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sapo ← aspo · saop · sappo · spao · ssapo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sapo" for "só" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sapo" or "só"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sapo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "só" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,975 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sapo" and "só" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sapo vs soap". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #63,975 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.