estevsetsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: este is a pronoun, ets is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“este” is a pronoun and “ets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#77
“este” frequency rank
#34,703
“ets” frequency rank
34780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature este ets
Definition relativo a alguém ou alguma coisa que esteja perto de quem fala: segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ésser

Letter map: este vs ets

Shared letters muted; letters that set este and ets apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
este
3 ch
ets

Grammar separator: este vs ets

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: este is apronoun and etsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

este is recorded at frequency rank #77, classified as apron. 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 34780, this pair ranks #32,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of este vs ets

Shared letters: est. Private to "este": -. Private to "ets": -.

"este" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ets" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • esteeset · esste · estte · etse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "este" and "ets" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "este" is a pronoun and "ets" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "este" or "ets"?
"este" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #77 in our Portuguese list, against #34,703 for "ets". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "este" and "ets".

  • Full dictionary entry for "este" 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 #32,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "este" 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 #32,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list