Which to use
“em” is a preposition and “ev” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7
- “em” frequency rank
- #26,740
- “ev” frequency rank
- 26747
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | em | ev |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | exprime a ideia de: | casa |
Where the eye mixes em and ev
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses em with ev
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: em is /ɐj̃/ while ev is /ɛv/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “em” becomes v in “ev”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
em is recorded at frequency rank #7, classified as aprep, pronounced /ɐj̃/. ev is at rank #26,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɛv/.
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 26747, this pair ranks #42,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of em vs ev
Shared letters: e. Private to "em": m. Private to "ev": v.
"em" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ev" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "em" for "ev" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "em" or "ev" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "em" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ev" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "em" and "ev" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ear vs ev". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #42,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.