Which to use
“ago” is an adverb and “asno” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,434
- “ago” frequency rank
- #40,433
- “asno” frequency rank
- 49867
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ago | asno |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | há, atrás – adj | burro |
Where the eye mixes ago and asno
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ago runs 3 letters (VCV) against asno's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ago with asno
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ago is /əˈɡəʊ/ while asno is /ˈaʒ.nu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49867, 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/. asno is at rank #40,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʒ.nu/.
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 49867, this pair ranks #15,120 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ago vs asno
Shared letters: ao. Private to "ago": g. Private to "asno": ns.
"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "asno" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- asno ← anso · asnno · ason · assno · sano
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ago" for "asno" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ago" vs "asno" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "asno" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,120 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ago" and "asno" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ASC vs asno". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #15,120 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.