sogravssombraTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,967
“sogra” frequency rank
#3,235
“sombra” frequency rank
14202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sogra sombra
Definition mãe do(a) cônjuge espaço privado de luz pela interposição de um corpo opaco entre ele e o objeto luminoso

Where the eye mixes sogra and sombra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sogra runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against sombra's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
sogra
6 ch
sombra

Why the eye confuses sogra with sombra

A purely visual mix-up. sogra (/ˈsɔ.ɡɾɐ/) and sombra (/ˈsõ.bɾɐ/) 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 14202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sogra is recorded at frequency rank #10,967, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɔ.ɡɾɐ/. sombra is at rank #3,235, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsõ.bɾɐ/.

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 14202, this pair ranks #57,963 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sogra vs sombra

Shared letters: aors. Private to "sogra": g. Private to "sombra": bm.

"sogra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sombra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sogra ← osgra · sgora · sogar · soggra · sogrra · sorga · ssogra
  • sombra ← osmbra · smobra · sobmra · sombar · sombbra · sombrra · sommbra · somrba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sogra" and "sombra" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈsɔ.ɡɾɐ/ versus /ˈsõ.bɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sogra" or "sombra"?
"sombra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,235 in our Portuguese list, against #10,967 for "sogra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sogra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sombra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #57,963 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sogra" and "sombra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sogra vs soir". 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 #57,963 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