scivssuaTell them apart

Quick tell: sci is a noun, sua is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#29,904
“sci” frequency rank
#32
“sua” frequency rank
29936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sci sua
Definition esqui, placa geralmente de madeira para deslizar na água ou na neve que tem você como objeto

Letter map: sci vs sua

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

3 ch
sci
3 ch
sua

Grammar separator: sci vs sua

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sci is anoun and suaanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sci is recorded at frequency rank #29,904, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃi/. sua is at rank #32, tagged as anadj.

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 29936, this pair ranks #38,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sci vs sua

Shared letters: s. Private to "sci": ci. Private to "sua": au.

"sci" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "sua" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sci" for "sua" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sci" is a noun and "sua" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sci" vs "sua" - which ranks higher?
"sua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32 in our Portuguese list, against #29,904 for "sci". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pair "sci" vs "sua" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sci" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #38,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sci" and "sua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs sci". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #38,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list