Which to use
“som” and “suma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,134
- “som” frequency rank
- #7,978
- “suma” frequency rank
- 9112
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | som | suma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz): | resumo |
Where the eye mixes som and suma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between som and suma
A purely visual mix-up. som (/ˈsõ/) and suma (/ˈsu.mɐ/) 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 9112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
som is recorded at frequency rank #1,134, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsõ/. suma is at rank #7,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsu.mɐ/.
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 9112, this pair ranks #64,431 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of som vs suma
Shared letters: ms. Private to "som": o. Private to "suma": au.
"som" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "suma" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- suma ← smua · ssuma · suam · summa · usma
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "som" for "suma" ever safe?
Which is more common, "som" or "suma"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "som" and "suma" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "som" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "suma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,431 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "som" and "suma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sudan vs suma". 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 #64,431 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.