Which to use
“ensaio” is a noun and “então” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,472
- “ensaio” frequency rank
- #120
- “então” frequency rank
- 3592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ensaio | então |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | meio empregado para testar se algo convém ao fim a que se destina | naquele momento |
Where the eye mixes ensaio and então
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ensaio runs 6 letters (VCCVVV) against então's 5 (VCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ensaio with então
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ensaio is /ẽ.ˈsaj.u/ while então is /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ensaio is recorded at frequency rank #3,472, classified as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈsaj.u/. então is at rank #120, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/.
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 3592, this pair ranks #71,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ensaio vs então
Shared letters: eno. Private to "ensaio": ais. Private to "então": tã.
"ensaio" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "então" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ensaio ← enasio · ennsaio · ensaoi · ensiao · enssaio · esnaio · nesaio
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ensaio" and "então" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ensaio" or "então" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ensaio" and "então" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ensaio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "então" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ensaio" and "então" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "então vs estalo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #71,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.