Which to use
“sec” is an adjective and “ste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,268
- “sec” frequency rank
- #36,242
- “ste” frequency rank
- 55510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sec | ste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seco | segunda pessoa do plural do futuro do indicativo do verbo byť |
Letter map: sec vs ste
Shared letters muted; letters that set sec and ste apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - sec and ste
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sec is anadjective and steaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55510, 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\. ste is at rank #36,242, 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 55510, this pair ranks #10,550 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sec vs ste
Shared letters: es. Private to "sec": c. Private to "ste": t.
"sec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sec" for "ste" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sec" vs "ste" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "sec" and "ste". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "sec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,550 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sec" and "ste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs ste". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #10,550 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.