vaziovsvícioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vazio is a adjective, vício is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vazio” is an adjective and “vício” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,811
“vazio” frequency rank
#7,235
“vício” frequency rank
10046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vazio vício
Definition que não contém nada; que não está com seu conteúdo habitual defeito

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
vazio
5 ch
vício

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vazio is /vɐ.ˈzi.u/ while vício is /ˈvi.sju/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vazio is recorded at frequency rank #2,811, classified as anadj, pronounced /vɐ.ˈzi.u/. vício is at rank #7,235, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvi.sju/.

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 10046, this pair ranks #63,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vazio vs vício

Shared letters: iov. Private to "vazio": az. Private to "vício": .

"vazio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "vício" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vazioavzio · vaizo · vazoi · vazzio · vvazio · vzaio

Frequency comparison

vazio#2,811
vício#7,235

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vazio" and "vício" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vazio" is an adjective and "vício" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vazio" or "vício"?
"vazio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,811 in our Portuguese list, against #7,235 for "vício". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vazio vs vício

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “vazio”; for a noun, it's “vício”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vazio” 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