ócio vs ódio, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ócio” and “ódio” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,525
“ócio” frequency rank: #2,032
“ódio” frequency rank: 36557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ócio	ódio
Definition	não ter nada o que fazer	aversão; rancor; desejo de ruína ou desgraça alheia

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ócio and ódio apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

ócio

4 ch

ódio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ócio (/ˈɔ.sju/) and ódio (/ˈɔ.dju/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - c in “ócio” becomes d in “ódio”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ócio is recorded at frequency rank #34,525, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔ.sju/. ódio is at rank #2,032, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔ.dju/.

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 36557, this pair ranks #30,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ócio vs ódio

Shared letters: ioó. Private to "ócio": c. Private to "ódio": d.

"ócio" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "ódio" · 4 letters · shape VCVV

Frequency comparison

ócio#34,525

ódio#2,032

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ócio" and "ódio" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈɔ.sju/ versus /ˈɔ.dju/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ócio" or "ódio"?

"ódio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,032 in our Portuguese list, against #34,525 for "ócio". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ócio vs ódio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ócio” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable