earvsetsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ear is a adjective, ets is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ear” is an adjective and “ets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,574
“ear” frequency rank
#34,703
“ets” frequency rank
74277
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ear ets
Definition coclear segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ésser

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ear and ets apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ear
3 ch
ets

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ear is anadjective and etsaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74277, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ear is recorded at frequency rank #39,574, classified as anadj. ets is at rank #34,703, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈeʦ/.

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 74277, this pair ranks #2,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ear vs ets

Shared letters: e. Private to "ear": ar. Private to "ets": st.

"ear" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "ets" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

ear#39,574
ets#34,703

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ear" and "ets" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ear" is an adjective and "ets" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ear" or "ets"?
"ets" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,703 in our Portuguese list, against #39,574 for "ear". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ear vs ets

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ear”; for a verb, it's “ets”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ear” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list