Which to use
“seco” is an adjective and “século” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,763
- “seco” frequency rank
- #1,102
- “século” frequency rank
- 5865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seco | século |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sem água ou humidade; enxuto; árido | período de cem anos que se conta a partir de um ponto cronologicamente determinado |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set seco and século apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seco is /ˈse.ku/ while século is /ˈsɛ.ku.lu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seco is recorded at frequency rank #4,763, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈse.ku/. século is at rank #1,102, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛ.ku.lu/.
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 5865, this pair ranks #68,679 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seco vs século
Shared letters: cos. Private to "seco": e. Private to "século": lué.
"seco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "século" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- seco ← esco · sceo · secco · seoc · sseco
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "seco" and "século" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "seco" or "século"?
Remembering seco vs século
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “seco”; for a noun, it's “século”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “seco” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable