Which to use
“sombra” is a noun and “sombrio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,235
- “sombra” frequency rank
- #10,617
- “sombrio” frequency rank
- 13852
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sombra | sombrio |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | espaço privado de luz pela interposição de um corpo opaco entre ele e o objeto luminoso | cheio de sombra |
Where the eye mixes sombra and sombrio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sombra runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against sombrio's 7 (CVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sombra with sombrio
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sombra is /ˈsõ.bɾɐ/ while sombrio is /sõ.ˈbɾi.u/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sombra is recorded at frequency rank #3,235, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsõ.bɾɐ/. sombrio is at rank #10,617, tagged as anadj, pronounced /sõ.ˈbɾi.u/.
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 13852, this pair ranks #58,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sombra vs sombrio
Shared letters: bmors. Private to "sombra": a. Private to "sombrio": i.
"sombra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "sombrio" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sombra" and "sombrio" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "sombra" or "sombrio" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "sombra" and "sombrio" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sombra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sombrio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sombra" and "sombrio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "simba vs sombra". 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 #58,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.