secvssuecoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“sec” and “sueco” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,268
“sec” frequency rank
#11,162
“sueco” frequency rank
30430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sec sueco
Definition seco da Suécia

Where the eye mixes sec and sueco

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sec runs 3 letters (CVC) against sueco's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
sec
5 ch
sueco

Look-alike desk: sec vs sueco

A purely visual mix-up. sec (\sɛk\) and sueco (/su.ˈɛ.ku/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30430, 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\. sueco is at rank #11,162, tagged as anadj, pronounced /su.ˈɛ.ku/.

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 30430, this pair ranks #37,919 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sec vs sueco

Shared letters: ces. Private to "sec": -. Private to "sueco": ou.

"sec" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "sueco" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sueco ← seuco · ssueco · suceo · suecco · sueoc · useco

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sec" and "sueco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\sɛk\ versus /su.ˈɛ.ku/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sec" or "sueco"?
"sueco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,162 in our Portuguese list, against #19,268 for "sec". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "sueco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,919 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sec" and "sueco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs sec". 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 #37,919 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