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. |
Letter map: isto vs its
Shared letters muted; letters that set isto and its apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. isto runs 4 letters (VCCV) against its's 3 (VCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Role in the sentence - isto and its
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "isto" and "its" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "isto" or "its"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "isto" and "its".
- Full dictionary entry for "isto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "its" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "isto" and "its" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ino vs its". 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 #60,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.