Which to use
“então” is an adverb and “entes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #120
- “então” frequency rank
- #12,238
- “entes” frequency rank
- 12358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | então | entes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | naquele momento | plural de ente |
Where the eye mixes então and entes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. então (VCCVV) and entes (VCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses então with entes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: então is /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/ while entes is /ˈẽ.tes/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12358, 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/. entes is at rank #12,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈẽ.tes/.
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 12358, this pair ranks #60,273 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of então vs entes
Shared letters: ent. Private to "então": oã. Private to "entes": s.
"então" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "entes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- entes ← enets · enntes · entess · entse · enttes · etnes · netes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "então" for "entes" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "então" or "entes" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "entes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,273 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "então" and "entes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entes vs eres". 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 #60,273 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.