sein vs sexo, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#43,647
“sein” frequency rank: #678
“sexo” frequency rank: 44325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sein	sexo
Definition	ser, estar.	definição biológica de gênero de um animal ou vegetal; pode ser feminino, masculino ou hermafrodita; quando não se tem definição considera-se um ser vivo como assexuado

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sein and sexo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

sein

4 ch

sexo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sein is /zaɪ̯n/ while sexo is /ˈsɛ.ksu/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sein is recorded at frequency rank #43,647, classified as averb, pronounced /zaɪ̯n/. sexo is at rank #678, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛ.ksu/.

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 44325, this pair ranks #21,171 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sein vs sexo

Shared letters: es. Private to "sein": in. Private to "sexo": ox.

"sein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sexo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

sein ← esin · seinn · seni · sien · ssein
sexo ← esxo · seox · sexxo · ssexo · sxeo

Frequency comparison

sein#43,647

sexo#678

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sein" and "sexo" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sein" is a verb and "sexo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "sein" or "sexo"?

"sexo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #678 in our Portuguese list, against #43,647 for "sein". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sein vs sexo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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