Which to use
“em” is a preposition and “ets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7
- “em” frequency rank
- #34,703
- “ets” frequency rank
- 34710
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | em | ets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | exprime a ideia de: | segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ésser |
Where the eye mixes em and ets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses em with ets
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: em is /ɐj̃/ while ets is /ˈeʦ/. 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 (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
em is recorded at frequency rank #7, classified as aprep, pronounced /ɐj̃/. 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 34710, this pair ranks #32,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of em vs ets
Shared letters: e. Private to "em": m. Private to "ets": st.
"em" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ets" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "em" and "ets" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "em" vs "ets" - which ranks higher?
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 "em" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "em" and "ets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "être vs ets". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.