Which to use
“viral” is an adjective and “vírus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,189
- “viral” frequency rank
- #2,346
- “vírus” frequency rank
- 13535
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | viral | vírus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pertinente a vírus | agente infeccioso microscópico, que causa várias doenças (AIDS, gripe, etc.) e provoca a produção de anticorpos |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set viral and vírus apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: viral is anadjective and vírusanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
viral is recorded at frequency rank #11,189, classified as anadj. vírus is at rank #2,346, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvi.ɾuʃ/.
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 13535, this pair ranks #58,766 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of viral vs vírus
Shared letters: rv. Private to "viral": ail. Private to "vírus": suí.
"viral" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vírus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- viral ← ivral · viarl · virall · virla · virral · vrial · vviral
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "viral" and "vírus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "viral" or "vírus"?
Remembering viral vs vírus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “viral”; for a noun, it's “vírus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “viral” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable