Which to use
“esse” and “este” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #83
- “esse” frequency rank
- #77
- “este” frequency rank
- 160
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esse | este |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pronome demonstrativo que designa indivíduo ou objeto afastado de quem fala e próxima da pessoa com quem se fala: | relativo a alguém ou alguma coisa que esteja perto de quem fala: |
Letter map: esse vs este
Shared letters muted; letters that set esse and este apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & dictionary notes on esse vs este
esse and este are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - s in “esse” becomes t in “este”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 160, 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/. este is at rank #77, tagged as apron.
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 160, this pair ranks #75,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of esse vs este
Shared letters: es. Private to "esse": -. Private to "este": t.
"esse" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "este" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "esse" and "este" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "esse" or "este"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "esse" and "este".
- Full dictionary entry for "esse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "este" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esse" and "este" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esse 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 #75,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.