sensualidadevssexualidadeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,876
“sensualidade” frequency rank
#5,893
“sexualidade” frequency rank
27769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sensualidade sexualidade
Definition qualidade de sensual; sensualismo qualidade do que é sexual; sexualismo

Where the eye mixes sensualidade and sexualidade

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

12 ch
sensualidade
11 ch
sexualidade

Visual trap between sensualidade and sexualidade

A purely visual mix-up. sensualidade (/sẽ.swɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/) and sexualidade (/sɛ.kswɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sensualidade is recorded at frequency rank #21,876, classified as anoun, pronounced /sẽ.swɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/. sexualidade is at rank #5,893, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɛ.kswɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/.

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 27769, this pair ranks #41,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sensualidade vs sexualidade

Shared letters: adeilsu. Private to "sensualidade": n. Private to "sexualidade": x.

"sensualidade" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVCV  ·  "sexualidade" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sensualidadeesnsualidade · sennsualidade · sensaulidade · senssualidade · sensuaildade · sensualdiade · sensualiadde · sensualidadde
  • sexualidadeesxualidade · seuxalidade · sexaulidade · sexuaildade · sexualdiade · sexualiadde · sexualidadde · sexualidaed

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sensualidade" and "sexualidade" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sẽ.swɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/ versus /sɛ.kswɐ.li.ˈda.dɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sensualidade" vs "sexualidade" - which ranks higher?
"sexualidade" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,893 in our Portuguese list, against #21,876 for "sensualidade". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sensualidade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sexualidade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #41,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #41,170 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