Which to use
“dona” is an adjective and “donos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,475
- “dona” frequency rank
- #5,000
- “donos” frequency rank
- 7475
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dona | donos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ruim, mau | forma plural de dono: |
Where the eye mixes dona and donos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dona with donos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dona is /ˈt̪ɔnə/ while donos is /ˈdo.nʊs/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dona is recorded at frequency rank #2,475, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈt̪ɔnə/. donos is at rank #5,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdo.nʊs/.
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 7475, this pair ranks #66,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dona vs donos
Shared letters: dno. Private to "dona": a. Private to "donos": s.
"dona" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "donos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dona" and "donos" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dona" vs "donos" - 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 "dona" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "donos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dona" and "donos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dodo vs donos". 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 #66,651 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.