Which to use
“ago” is an adverb and “apo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,434
- “ago” frequency rank
- #45,685
- “apo” frequency rank
- 55119
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ago | apo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | há, atrás – adj | atar, juntar, ligar. |
Where the eye mixes ago and apo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ago and apo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between ago and apo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ago is /əˈɡəʊ/ while apo is /ˈa.poː/.. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “ago” becomes p in “apo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55119, 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/. apo is at rank #45,685, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈa.poː/..
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 55119, this pair ranks #10,789 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ago vs apo
Shared letters: ao. Private to "ago": g. Private to "apo": p.
"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "apo" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ago" and "apo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ago" vs "apo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,789 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ago" and "apo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs apo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #10,789 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.