Which to use
“wash” is a verb and “wise” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,233
- “wash” frequency rank
- #35,403
- “wise” frequency rank
- 68636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wash | wise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tirar as impurezas usando-se de água ou outro líquido; lavar | sábio |
Letter map: wash vs wise
Shared letters muted; letters that set wash and wise apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - wash and wise
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wash is averb and wiseanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wash is recorded at frequency rank #33,233, classified as averb. wise is at rank #35,403, tagged as anadj, pronounced /waɪz/.
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 68636, this pair ranks #4,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of wash vs wise
Shared letters: sw. Private to "wash": ah. Private to "wise": ei.
"wash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wise" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wash" and "wise" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "wash" or "wise" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pair "wash" vs "wise" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "wash" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wash" and "wise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wash vs watt". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #4,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.