Which to use
“ontem” is an adverb and “onze” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #525
- “ontem” frequency rank
- #5,665
- “onze” frequency rank
- 6190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ontem | onze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | no dia anterior ao de hoje | número equivalente a dez mais um; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha onze elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 11 (algarismos arábicos) ou XI (algarismos romanos) |
Where the eye mixes ontem and onze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ontem runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against onze's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ontem with onze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ontem is /ˈõ.tɐ̃j̃/ while onze is /ˈõ.zɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ontem is recorded at frequency rank #525, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈõ.tɐ̃j̃/. onze is at rank #5,665, tagged as anum, pronounced /ˈõ.zɨ/.
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 6190, this pair ranks #68,295 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ontem vs onze
Shared letters: eno. Private to "ontem": mt. Private to "onze": z.
"ontem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "onze" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ontem" and "onze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ontem" vs "onze" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ontem" and "onze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ontem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "onze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,295 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ontem" and "onze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oni vs onze". 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 #68,295 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.