ina vs irmã, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ina” and “irmã” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,904
“ina” frequency rank: #939
“irmã” frequency rank: 45843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ina	irmã
Definition	mãe	aquela que em relação a outrem, possui os dois pais (o mesmo pai e a mesma mãe ao mesmo tempo) em comum

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ina and irmã apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

ina

4 ch

irmã

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ina (/iˈna/, [ʔɪˈnʌ]) and irmã (/iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ina is recorded at frequency rank #44,904, classified as anoun, pronounced /iˈna/, [ʔɪˈnʌ]. irmã is at rank #939, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/.

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 45843, this pair ranks #19,540 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ina vs irmã

Shared letters: i. Private to "ina": an. Private to "irmã": mrã.

"ina" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "irmã" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Frequency comparison

ina#44,904

irmã#939

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ina" and "irmã" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/iˈna/, [ʔɪˈnʌ] versus /iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ina" or "irmã"?

"irmã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #939 in our Portuguese list, against #44,904 for "ina". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ina vs irmã

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ina” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable