Which to use
“sésamo” and “sessão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,349
- “sésamo” frequency rank
- #1,830
- “sessão” frequency rank
- 42179
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sésamo | sessão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sésamo | tempo durante o qual um corpo deliberativo se reúne |
Where the eye mixes sésamo and sessão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sésamo (CVCVCV) and sessão (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses sésamo with sessão
A purely visual mix-up. sésamo (/ˈsɛsa̝mo̝/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sésamo is recorded at frequency rank #40,349, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛsa̝mo̝/. 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 42179, this pair ranks #23,627 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sésamo vs sessão
Shared letters: os. Private to "sésamo": amé. Private to "sessão": eã.
"sésamo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "sessão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sésamo" and "sessão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "sésamo" or "sessão" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sésamo" 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 #23,627 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sésamo" and "sessão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sésamo vs sismo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #23,627 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.