ego

/ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/

//ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː// pron

The verdict

“ego” is a regularly-used Portuguese word, ranked #6,872 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a pronoun.

#6,872
frequency rank, Portuguese
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - primeira pessoa do singular, eu

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ego vs em
33% similar
ego vs eu
33% similar
ego vs el
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ego
PropertyValue
Headwordego
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,872
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ego” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ego lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for ego is 3 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,872 in overall Portuguese word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "primeira pessoa do singular, eu".

No generated misspelling entries exist for ego in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "em", "eu", "el", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is ego, spelled E-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    primeira pessoa do singular, eu

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ego"?
"ego" is spelled E-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/.
What does "ego" mean?
As a pronoun, "ego" means: primeira pessoa do singular, eu
What words are commonly confused with "ego"?
"ego" is commonly confused with "em", "eu", "el". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ego"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ego" is /ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ego" come from?
"ego" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ego”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is E-G-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “em” - see the side-by-side comparison. ego vs em
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list