sermãovssessãoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,981
“sermão” frequency rank
#1,830
“sessão” frequency rank
14811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sermão sessão
Definition discurso ou oração que o sacerdote faz ante os fiéis para ensinar a doutrina cristã tempo durante o qual um corpo deliberativo se reúne

Where the eye mixes sermão and sessão

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sermão and sessão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
sermão
6 ch
sessão

Visual trap between sermão and sessão

A purely visual mix-up. sermão (/sɨɾ.ˈmɐ̃w̃/) and sessão (/sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 14811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sermão is recorded at frequency rank #12,981, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɨɾ.ˈmɐ̃w̃/. sessão is at rank #1,830, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 14811, this pair ranks #57,179 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sermão vs sessão

Shared letters: eosã. Private to "sermão": mr. Private to "sessão": -.

"sermão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "sessão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sermão" and "sessão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sɨɾ.ˈmɐ̃w̃/ versus /sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sermão" or "sessão"?
"sessão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,830 in our Portuguese list, against #12,981 for "sermão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "sermão" and "sessão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sermão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sessão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #57,179 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sermão" and "sessão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serias vs sermão". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #57,179 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