Which to use
“o” is an article and “ob” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3
- “o” frequency rank
- #28,692
- “ob” frequency rank
- 28695
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | o | ob |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | partícula gramatical usada antes de substantivos ou palavras substantivadas; por geral indica uma coisa em particular | eu, pronome pessoal do caso nominativo da primeira pessoa do singular; |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set o and ob apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
o and ob 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 1 extra letter(s) - “o” sits inside “ob” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
o is recorded at frequency rank #3, classified as anarticle, pronounced /u/. ob is at rank #28,692, tagged as apron, pronounced /ob/.
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 28695, this pair ranks #40,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "o" and "ob" be used interchangeably?
Remembering o vs ob
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “o”; for a pronoun, it's “ob”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “o” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable