Which to use
“es” is a pronoun and “ets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,631
- “es” frequency rank
- #34,703
- “ets” frequency rank
- 37334
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | es | ets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ele, ela, aquilo, pronome da terceira pessoa do neutro singular do caso nominativo. | segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ésser |
Where the eye mixes es and ets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between es and ets
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: es is /'ɛs/ ouvir ^(fonte ?) while ets is /ˈeʦ/. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
es is recorded at frequency rank #2,631, classified as apron, pronounced /'ɛs/ ouvir ^(fonte ?). ets is at rank #34,703, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈeʦ/.
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 37334, this pair ranks #29,301 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of es vs ets
Shared letters: es. Private to "es": -. Private to "ets": t.
"es" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ets" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "es" for "ets" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "es" or "ets" show up more?
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 "es" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,301 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "es" and "ets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "être vs ets". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #29,301 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.