Which to use
“ago” is an adverb and “ama” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,434
- “ago” frequency rank
- #1,454
- “ama” frequency rank
- 10888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ago | ama |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | há, atrás – adj | mulher que amamenta filho alheio |
Where the eye mixes ago and ama
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ago with ama
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ago is /əˈɡəʊ/ while ama is /ˈɐ.mɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ago is recorded at frequency rank #9,434, classified as anadv, pronounced /əˈɡəʊ/. ama is at rank #1,454, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɐ.mɐ/.
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 10888, this pair ranks #62,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ago vs ama
Shared letters: a. Private to "ago": go. Private to "ama": m.
"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ama" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ago" and "ama" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ago" or "ama"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ago" and "ama" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ama" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ago" and "ama" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ago". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #62,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.