Which to use
“sea” and “som” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,925
- “sea” frequency rank
- #1,134
- “som” frequency rank
- 11059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sea | som |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mar. | onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz): |
Letter map: sea vs som
Shared letters muted; letters that set sea and som apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Spelling & dictionary notes on sea vs som
sea and som are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sea is recorded at frequency rank #9,925, classified as anoun, pronounced ]. som is at rank #1,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsõ/.
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 11059, this pair ranks #61,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sea vs som
Shared letters: s. Private to "sea": ae. Private to "som": mo.
"sea" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "som" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sea" for "som" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sea" or "som"?
Useful next steps
Pair "sea" vs "som" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "sea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "som" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sea" and "som" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sea vs soap". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #61,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.