Which to use
“esse” is a pronoun and “ets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #83
- “esse” frequency rank
- #34,703
- “ets” frequency rank
- 34786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esse | ets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pronome demonstrativo que designa indivíduo ou objeto afastado de quem fala e próxima da pessoa com quem se fala: | segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ésser |
Where the eye mixes esse and ets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses esse with ets
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: esse is /ˈe.sɪ/ 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 34786, 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/. 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 34786, this pair ranks #32,393 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of esse vs ets
Shared letters: es. Private to "esse": -. Private to "ets": t.
"esse" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ets" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- esse ← ese · eses · sese
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "esse" and "ets" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "esse" or "ets"?
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 "esse" 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 #32,393 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esse" and "ets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "être vs ets". 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 #32,393 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.