viável vs visível, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#10,293
“viável” frequency rank: #4,775
“visível” frequency rank: 15068
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	viável	visível
Definition	que pode ser percorrido	que se pode ver

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set viável and visível apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

viável

7 ch

visível

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. viável (/ˈvja.vɛɫ/) and visível (/vi.ˈzi.vɛɫ/) 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 15068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

viável is recorded at frequency rank #10,293, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈvja.vɛɫ/. visível is at rank #4,775, tagged as anadj, pronounced /vi.ˈzi.vɛɫ/.

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 15068, this pair ranks #56,865 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of viável vs visível

Shared letters: eilv. Private to "viável": á. Private to "visível": sí.

"viável" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "visível" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

viável#10,293

visível#4,775

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "viável" and "visível" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈvja.vɛɫ/ versus /vi.ˈzi.vɛɫ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "viável" or "visível"?

"visível" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,775 in our Portuguese list, against #10,293 for "viável". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering viável vs visível

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 “viável” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable