Which to use
“ano” and “ânus” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #99
- “ano” frequency rank
- #20,478
- “ânus” frequency rank
- 20577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ano | ânus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | período de tempo correspondente à revolução da Terra em torno do Sol que equivale a 365 dias, 6 horas, 13 minutos e 53 segundos | orifício na extremidade final do intestino grosso, por onde são expelidos os excrementos |
Where the eye mixes ano and ânus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ano vs ânus
A purely visual mix-up. ano (/ˈãⁿ.nu/) and ânus (/ˈɐ.nuʃ/) 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 20577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ano is recorded at frequency rank #99, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈãⁿ.nu/. ânus is at rank #20,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɐ.nuʃ/.
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 20577, this pair ranks #49,900 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ano vs ânus
Shared letters: n. Private to "ano": ao. Private to "ânus": suâ.
"ano" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ânus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ano" for "ânus" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ano" vs "ânus" - 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 "ano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ânus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,900 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ano" and "ânus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ânus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,900 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.