Which to use
“então” is an adverb and “estalo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #120
- “então” frequency rank
- #35,580
- “estalo” frequency rank
- 35700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | então | estalo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | naquele momento | ruído breve e intenso, ruído do que racha |
Where the eye mixes então and estalo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: então vs estalo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: então is /ẽ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/ while estalo is /iʃ.ˈta.lu/. 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 35700, 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/. estalo is at rank #35,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈta.lu/.
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 35700, this pair ranks #31,316 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of então vs estalo
Shared letters: eot. Private to "então": nã. Private to "estalo": als.
"então" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "estalo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- estalo ← esatlo · esstalo · estallo · estaol · estlao · esttalo · etsalo · setalo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "então" and "estalo" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "então" vs "estalo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "estalo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,316 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "então" and "estalo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estalo vs esteio". 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 #31,316 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.