Which to use
“sério” is an adjective and “sermos” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #544
- “sério” frequency rank
- #5,579
- “sermos” frequency rank
- 6123
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sério | sermos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que demonstra profundo pensar | primeira pessoa do plural do infinitivo pessoal do verbo ser. |
Where the eye mixes sério and sermos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sério with sermos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sério is /ˈsɛ.ɾju/ while sermos is /ˈseɾ.mus/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sério is recorded at frequency rank #544, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɛ.ɾju/. sermos is at rank #5,579, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈseɾ.mus/.
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 6123, this pair ranks #68,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sério vs sermos
Shared letters: ors. Private to "sério": ié. Private to "sermos": em.
"sério" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "sermos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sermos ← esrmos · semros · sermmos · sermoss · sermso · seroms · serrmos · sremos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sério" for "sermos" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sério" or "sermos"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sério" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sermos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sério" and "sermos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serias vs sermos". 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 #68,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.