Which to use
“e” is a conjunction and “ela” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5
- “e” frequency rank
- #48
- “ela” frequency rank
- 53
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | e | ela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | usado para unir orações ou termos de mesma natureza gramatical | pronome pessoal da terceira pessoa do singular |
Where the eye mixes e and ela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: e vs ela
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: e is /i/ while ela is /ˈɛ.lɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “e” sits inside “ela”, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
e is recorded at frequency rank #5, classified as aconj, pronounced /i/. ela is at rank #48, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈɛ.lɐ/.
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 53, this pair ranks #75,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of e vs ela
Shared letters: e. Private to "e": -. Private to "ela": al.
"e" · 1 letters · shape V · "ela" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "e" and "ela" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "e" or "ela" show up more?
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 "e" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "e" and "ela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ela vs elio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.