setevsskateWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sete is a num, skate is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sete” is a num and “skate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#858
“sete” frequency rank
#9,257
“skate” frequency rank
10115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sete skate
Definition cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha sete elementos distintos; número equivalente a seis mais um, representado pelo símbolo 7 em algarismos arábicos ou VII/vii em algarismos romanos prancha dotada de quatro pequenas rodas e dois eixos com a qual se faz malabarismos

Where the eye mixes sete and skate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
sete
5 ch
skate

Why the eye confuses sete with skate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sete is /ˈsɛ.tʃi/, /ˈsɛ.ti/ while skate is /ˈskɐjt/. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sete is recorded at frequency rank #858, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈsɛ.tʃi/, /ˈsɛ.ti/. skate is at rank #9,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈskɐjt/.

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 10115, this pair ranks #63,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sete vs skate

Shared letters: est. Private to "sete": -. Private to "skate": ak.

"sete" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "skate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seteseet · sette · ssete · stee
  • skateksate · sakte · skaet · skatte · skkate · sktae · sskate

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sete" and "skate" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sete" is a num and "skate" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sete" or "skate"?
"sete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #858 in our Portuguese list, against #9,257 for "skate". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "sete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "skate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sete" and "skate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sade vs skate". 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 #63,107 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