sólidovssoltoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,414
“sólido” frequency rank
#6,242
“solto” frequency rank
15656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sólido solto
Definition que resiste a esforço mecânico que se soltou

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sólido and solto apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
sólido
5 ch
solto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sólido (/ˈsɔ.li.du/) and solto (/ˈsoɫ.tu/) 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 15656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sólido is recorded at frequency rank #9,414, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɔ.li.du/. solto is at rank #6,242, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsoɫ.tu/.

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 15656, this pair ranks #56,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sólido vs solto

Shared letters: los. Private to "sólido": dió. Private to "solto": t.

"sólido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "solto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • soltooslto · sloto · sollto · solot · soltto · sotlo · ssolto

Frequency comparison

sólido#9,414
solto#6,242

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sólido" and "solto" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈsɔ.li.du/ versus /ˈsoɫ.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sólido" or "solto"?
"solto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,242 in our Portuguese list, against #9,414 for "sólido". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sólido vs solto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sólido” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list