Which to use
“mo” is a pronoun and “moto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,745
- “mo” frequency rank
- #3,422
- “moto” frequency rank
- 8167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mo | moto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | combinação de me (pronome pessoal oblíquo átono) e o (pronome pessoal oblíquo átono, pronome demonstrativo masculino ou pronome demonstrativo neutro) | ato ou efeito de mover; movimento |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mo and moto apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
mo and moto form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mo” sits inside “moto” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mo is recorded at frequency rank #4,745, classified as apron, pronounced /mo/. moto is at rank #3,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔ.tu/.
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 8167, this pair ranks #65,709 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mo" and "moto" be used interchangeably?
Remembering mo vs moto
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “mo”; for a noun, it's “moto”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mo” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable