Which to use
“seco” is an adjective and “sete” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,763
- “seco” frequency rank
- #858
- “sete” frequency rank
- 5621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seco | sete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sem água ou humidade; enxuto; árido | cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha sete elementos distintos; número equivalente a seis mais um, representado pelo símbolo 7 em algarismos arábicos ou VII/vii em algarismos romanos |
Where the eye mixes seco and sete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses seco with sete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seco is /ˈse.ku/ while sete is /ˈsɛ.tʃi/, /ˈsɛ.ti/. 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5621, 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/. sete is at rank #858, tagged as anum, pronounced /ˈsɛ.tʃi/, /ˈsɛ.ti/.
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 5621, this pair ranks #68,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seco vs sete
Shared letters: es. Private to "seco": co. Private to "sete": t.
"seco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sete" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seco" for "sete" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "seco" or "sete" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "seco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seco" and "sete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seco vs sueño". 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 #68,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.