seçãovssermãoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,496
“seção” frequency rank
#12,981
“sermão” frequency rank
15477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seção sermão
Definition subdivisão de um capítulo, obra, tratado ou estudo discurso ou oração que o sacerdote faz ante os fiéis para ensinar a doutrina cristã

Letter map: seção vs sermão

Shared letters muted; letters that set seção and sermão apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch
seção
6 ch
sermão

Spelling & dictionary notes on seção vs sermão

seção and sermão 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seção is recorded at frequency rank #2,496, classified as anoun. sermão is at rank #12,981, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɨɾ.ˈmɐ̃w̃/.

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 15477, this pair ranks #56,331 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of seção vs sermão

Shared letters: eosã. Private to "seção": ç. Private to "sermão": mr.

"seção" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "sermão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "seção" and "sermão" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "seção" or "sermão"?
"seção" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,496 in our Portuguese list, against #12,981 for "sermão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "seção" and "sermão".

  • Full dictionary entry for "seção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sermão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #56,331 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seção" and "sermão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serias vs sermão". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #56,331 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