sec vs som, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#19,268
“sec” frequency rank: #1,134
“som” frequency rank: 20402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sec	som
Definition	seco	onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz):

Where the eye mixes sec and som

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

sec

3 ch

som

Why the eye confuses sec with som

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sec is \sɛk\ while som is /ˈsõ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sec is recorded at frequency rank #19,268, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛk\. 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 20402, this pair ranks #50,134 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sec vs som

Shared letters: s. Private to "sec": ce. Private to "som": mo.

"sec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "som" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sec" and "som" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sec" is an adjective and "som" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

In ordinary Portuguese text, does "sec" or "som" show up more?

"som" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,134 in our Portuguese list, against #19,268 for "sec". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

Full dictionary entry for "sec" 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 #50,134 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"sec" and "som" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs sec". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #50,134 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.