Which to use
“então” is an adverb and “Ente” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #120
- “então” frequency rank
- #17,497
- “Ente” frequency rank
- 17617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | então | Ente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | naquele momento | pato |
Where the eye mixes então and Ente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. então runs 5 letters (VCCVV) against Ente's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between então and Ente
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: então is /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/ while Ente is /ˈɛntə/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
então is recorded at frequency rank #120, classified as anadv, pronounced /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/. Ente is at rank #17,497, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛntə/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 17617, this pair ranks #53,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of então vs Ente
Shared letters: ent. Private to "então": oã. Private to "Ente": -.
"então" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Ente ← enet · ennte · entte · etne · nete
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "então" and "Ente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "então" or "Ente"?
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 "então" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "então" and "Ente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ente vs être". 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 #53,590 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.