Which to use
“ela” and “ele” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48
- “ela” frequency rank
- #38
- “ele” frequency rank
- 86
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ela | ele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pronome pessoal da terceira pessoa do singular | pronome pessoal da terceira pessoa do singular |
Where the eye mixes ela and ele
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ela with ele
A purely visual mix-up. ela (/ˈɛ.lɐ/) 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 differ by a single letter - a in “ela” becomes e in “ele”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ela is recorded at frequency rank #48, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈɛ.lɐ/. 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 86, this pair ranks #75,565 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ela vs ele
Shared letters: el. Private to "ela": a. Private to "ele": -.
"ela" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ele" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ela" and "ele" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ela" or "ele" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ela" and "ele" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ela" 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 #75,565 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ela" and "ele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ele vs être". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,565 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.