Which to use
“oba” is a num and “ons” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,674
- “oba” frequency rank
- #48,564
- “ons” frequency rank
- 69238
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | oba | ons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ambos, um e outro, uma e outra | pronome pessoal neutro do caso nominativo da terceira pessoa do plural |
Where the eye mixes oba and ons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. oba (VCV) and ons (VCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses oba with ons
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: oba is /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while ons is /ons/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
oba is recorded at frequency rank #20,674, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?). ons is at rank #48,564, tagged as apron, pronounced /ons/.
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 69238, this pair ranks #4,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of oba vs ons
Shared letters: o. Private to "oba": ab. Private to "ons": ns.
"oba" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ons" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "oba" for "ons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "oba" or "ons"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "oba" and "ons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "oba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "oba" and "ons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oni vs ons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #4,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.