Which to use
“ago” and “an” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,434
- “ago” frequency rank
- #2,817
- “an” frequency rank
- 12251
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ago | an |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | há, atrás – adj | ligado, aceso: |
Where the eye mixes ago and an
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ago with an
A purely visual mix-up. ago (/əˈɡəʊ/) and an (/an/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12251, 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/. an is at rank #2,817, tagged as anadv, pronounced /an/.
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 12251, this pair ranks #60,403 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ago vs an
Shared letters: a. Private to "ago": go. Private to "an": n.
"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "an" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ago" and "an" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ago" vs "an" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ago" and "an" 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 "an" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,403 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ago" and "an" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ago". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #60,403 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.