segavssejamWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sega is a noun, sejam is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sega” is a noun and “sejam” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,553
“sega” frequency rank
#923
“sejam” frequency rank
32476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sega sejam
Definition serra (instrumento usado para serrar, cortar) terceira pessoa do plural do presente do subjuntivo do verbo ser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sega and sejam apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sega
5 ch
sejam

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sega is /ˈsɛ.ɡa/ while sejam is /ˈse.ʒã/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sega is recorded at frequency rank #31,553, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛ.ɡa/. sejam is at rank #923, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈse.ʒã/.

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 32476, this pair ranks #35,329 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sega vs sejam

Shared letters: aes. Private to "sega": g. Private to "sejam": jm.

"sega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sejam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • segaesga · seag · segga · sgea · ssega
  • sejamesjam · seajm · sejamm · sejjam · sejma · sjeam · ssejam

Frequency comparison

sega#31,553
sejam#923

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sega" and "sejam" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sega" is a noun and "sejam" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sega" or "sejam"?
"sejam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #923 in our Portuguese list, against #31,553 for "sega". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sega vs sejam

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sega”; for a verb, it's “sejam”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sega” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list