ordemvsorderWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ordem is a noun, order is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ordem” is a noun and “order” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#609
“ordem” frequency rank
#10,222
“order” frequency rank
10831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ordem order
Definition boa organização das coisas ordenar, mandar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ordem and order apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
ordem
5 ch
order

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ordem is anoun and orderaverb. On the page they differ by a single letter - m in “ordem” becomes r in “order”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ordem is recorded at frequency rank #609, classified as anoun. order is at rank #10,222, tagged as averb.

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 10831, this pair ranks #62,168 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ordem vs order

Shared letters: deor. Private to "ordem": m. Private to "order": -.

"ordem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "order" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ordemodrem · orddem · ordemm · ordme · oredm · orrdem · rodem
  • orderodrer · ordder · orderr · ordre · oredr · orrder · roder

Frequency comparison

ordem#609
order#10,222

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ordem" and "order" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ordem" is a noun and "order" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ordem" or "order"?
"ordem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #609 in our Portuguese list, against #10,222 for "order". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ordem vs order

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ordem”; for a verb, it's “order”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ordem” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list