Which to use
“ego” and “ele” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,872
- “ego” frequency rank
- #38
- “ele” frequency rank
- 6910
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ego | ele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular, eu | pronome pessoal da terceira pessoa do singular |
Where the eye mixes ego and ele
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ego and ele
A purely visual mix-up. ego (/ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/) and ele (/ˈe.li/, /ˈe.lɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ego is recorded at frequency rank #6,872, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈe.ɡo/, /ˈe.ɡoː/. ele is at rank #38, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈe.li/, /ˈe.lɪ/.
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 6910, this pair ranks #67,390 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ego vs ele
Shared letters: e. Private to "ego": go. Private to "ele": l.
"ego" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ele" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ego" for "ele" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ego" or "ele" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ego" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,390 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ego" and "ele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ego vs elio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #67,390 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.