seguirvssentirTell them apart

Which to use

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

#590
“seguir” frequency rank
#691
“sentir” frequency rank
1281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seguir sentir
Definition ir atrás de perceber por qualquer dos sentidos

Where the eye mixes seguir and sentir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. seguir (CVCVVC) and sentir (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
seguir
6 ch
sentir

Look-alike desk: seguir vs sentir

A purely visual mix-up. seguir (/sɨ.ˈɡiɾ/) and sentir (/sẽ.ˈtiɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seguir is recorded at frequency rank #590, classified as averb, pronounced /sɨ.ˈɡiɾ/. sentir is at rank #691, tagged as averb, pronounced /sẽ.ˈtiɾ/.

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 1281, this pair ranks #74,303 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of seguir vs sentir

Shared letters: eirs. Private to "seguir": gu. Private to "sentir": nt.

"seguir" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "sentir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seguir ← esguir · segguir · segiur · seguirr · seguri · seugir · sgeuir · sseguir
  • sentir ← esntir · senitr · senntir · sentirr · sentri · senttir · setnir · snetir

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "seguir" and "sentir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/sɨ.ˈɡiɾ/ versus /sẽ.ˈtiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "seguir" or "sentir"?
"seguir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #590 in our Portuguese list, against #691 for "sentir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "seguir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sentir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #74,303 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seguir" and "sentir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "señor vs sentir". 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 #74,303 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