Which to use
“esse” is a pronoun and “está” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #83
- “esse” frequency rank
- #45
- “está” frequency rank
- 128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esse | está |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pronome demonstrativo que designa indivíduo ou objeto afastado de quem fala e próxima da pessoa com quem se fala: | terceira pessoa do verbo estar no presente do indicativo; indica condição temporária |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set esse and está apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
esse and está form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esse is recorded at frequency rank #83, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈe.sɪ/. está is at rank #45, tagged as averb.
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 128, this pair ranks #75,532 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "esse" and "está" be used interchangeably?
Remembering esse vs está
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “esse”; for a verb, it's “está”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “esse” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable