ou

/ow/, /o/

//ow/, /o// conj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“ou” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #36) as a conjunction. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#36
frequency rank, Portuguese
385
“O” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - une palavras ou orações, podendo designar alternativa ou incompatibilidade

Corpus desk

Index PT-ou · ou · Portuguese

ou · rank #36 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #36
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 385
  • PHOTO-FINISH das

Nearest frequency peer: das (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ou”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ou” sits against the nearest ranked Portuguese headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ou vs ovo
33% similar
ou vs our
67% similar
ou vs OVA
0% similar

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

Key facts for ou
PropertyValue
Headwordou
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechConjunction
IPA/ow/, /o/
Letters2
Frequency rank#36
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Onde “ou” fica na frequência do português

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.oucai aqui:

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

Os ticks avançam em logaritmo; cada um é da ordem de dez vezes mais raro. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “das” (#35), “são” (#34), “ele” (#38). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ou is neighbouring look-alikes ("ovo", "our", …), not just typos; it is aconjunction pronounced /ow/, /o/. Frequency #36 among 385 “O” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ou, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ovo", "our", "OVA", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is ou, spelled O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    une palavras ou orações, podendo designar alternativa ou incompatibilidade
  2. 2
    une palavras ou orações, podendo designar indecisão ou incerteza
  3. 3
    faz indicação de outro modo de expressar algo

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Você vai querer café ou refrigerante?
  2. Decida-se: ou entra, ou sai.

Synonyms

isto é

This word in other languages

or(English)o(Español)ou(Français)oder(Deutsch)

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 "ou"?
"ou" is spelled O-U. The IPA pronunciation is /ow/, /o/.
What does "ou" mean?
As a conjunction, "ou" means: une palavras ou orações, podendo designar alternativa ou incompatibilidade
What words are commonly confused with "ou"?
"ou" is commonly confused with "ovo", "our", "OVA". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ou" is /ow/, /o/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ou" come from?
"ou" 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.

What to do next

You've looked up "ou". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ou" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ovo". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #36 among Portuguese headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Portuguese words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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