Which to use
“one” is an adjective and “ontem” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,219
- “one” frequency rank
- #525
- “ontem” frequency rank
- 1744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | one | ontem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | único: | no dia anterior ao de hoje |
Where the eye mixes one and ontem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses one with ontem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: one is /ˈwɐn/ while ontem is /ˈõ.tɐ̃j̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
one is recorded at frequency rank #1,219, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwɐn/. ontem is at rank #525, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈõ.tɐ̃j̃/.
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 1744, this pair ranks #73,764 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of one vs ontem
Shared letters: eno. Private to "one": -. Private to "ontem": mt.
"one" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ontem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ontem ← notem · onetm · onntem · ontemm · ontme · onttem · otnem
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "one" and "ontem" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "one" vs "ontem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "one" and "ontem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "one" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ontem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,764 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "one" and "ontem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "one vs oni". 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 #73,764 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.