viávelvsviverWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: viável is a adjective, viver is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“viável” is an adjective and “viver” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,293
“viável” frequency rank
#577
“viver” frequency rank
10870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature viável viver
Definition que pode ser percorrido ter vida; existir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set viável and viver apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
viável
5 ch
viver

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: viável is /ˈvja.vɛɫ/ while viver is /vi.ˈveɾ/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10870, 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/. viver is at rank #577, tagged as averb, pronounced /vi.ˈveɾ/.

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 10870, this pair ranks #62,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of viável vs viver

Shared letters: eiv. Private to "viável": . Private to "viver": r.

"viável" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "viver" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • viverivver · vievr · viverr · vivre · vivver · vvier · vviver

Frequency comparison

viável#10,293
viver#577

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "viável" and "viver" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "viável" is an adjective and "viver" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "viável" or "viver"?
"viver" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #577 in our Portuguese list, against #10,293 for "viável". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering viável vs viver

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “viável”; for a verb, it's “viver”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list