Which to use
“vício” is a noun and “vilão” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,235
- “vício” frequency rank
- #7,232
- “vilão” frequency rank
- 14467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vício | vilão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | defeito | relativo ou pertencente à vila |
Where the eye mixes vício and vilão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. vício and vilão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vício with vilão
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vício is /ˈvi.sju/ while vilão is /bi.'laŋ/, /bi.'la.o/ ou /bi.'law/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vício is recorded at frequency rank #7,235, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈvi.sju/. vilão is at rank #7,232, tagged as anadj, pronounced /bi.'laŋ/, /bi.'la.o/ ou /bi.'law/.
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 14467, this pair ranks #57,600 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vício vs vilão
Shared letters: iov. Private to "vício": cí. Private to "vilão": lã.
"vício" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "vilão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vício" for "vilão" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vício" or "vilão"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vício" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vilão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,600 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vício" and "vilão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "velar vs vilão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #57,600 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.