em vão

phrase

The verdict

“em vão” is uncommon Portuguese (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Portuguese
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - debalde, inutilmente; não conseguir atingir o objetivo desejado

Corpus desk

Index PT-em-vao · em vão · Portuguese

em vão · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for em vão
PropertyValue
Headwordem vão
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechPhrase
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cauda longa: rank de “em vão” em português

em vãoestá além das 100.000 formas mais frequentes do português, na cauda de léxico especializado ou pouco usado.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

em vão is uncommon Portuguese outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for em vão, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Portuguese form is em vão, spelled E-M- -V-Ã-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    debalde, inutilmente; não conseguir atingir o objetivo desejado
  2. 2
    sem apoio

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how em vão appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tudo o que eu fiz foi em vão, não consegui salvar a casa.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "em vão"?
"em vão" is spelled E-M- -V-Ã-O.
What does "em vão" mean?
As a phrase, "em vão" means: debalde, inutilmente; não conseguir atingir o objetivo desejado
What language does "em vão" come from?
"em vão" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list