isto vs its, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“isto” is a pronoun and “its” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#349
“isto” frequency rank: #11,659
“its” frequency rank: 12008
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	isto	its
Definition	indica algo que está próximo a quem fala ou assunto de que se fala	adjetivo possessivo da terceira pessoa neutra do singular, dele ou dela.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set isto and its apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

isto

3 ch

its

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: isto is apronoun and itsanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

isto is recorded at frequency rank #349, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈis.tu/. its is at rank #11,659, tagged as anadj.

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 12008, this pair ranks #60,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of isto vs its

Shared letters: ist. Private to "isto": o. Private to "its": -.

"isto" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "its" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

isto ← isot · issto · istto · itso

Frequency comparison

isto#349

its#11,659

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "isto" and "its" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "isto" is a pronoun and "its" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "isto" or "its"?

"isto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #349 in our Portuguese list, against #11,659 for "its". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering isto vs its

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “isto”; for an adjective, it's “its”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “isto” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable