ordemvsorigemWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#609
“ordem” frequency rank
#1,082
“origem” frequency rank
1691
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ordem origem
Definition boa organização das coisas ponto inicial de uma ação ou coisa que tem continuidade no tempo e/ou no espaço; ponto de partida

Letter map: ordem vs origem

Shared letters muted; letters that set ordem and origem apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch
ordem
6 ch
origem

Corpus notes: ordem and origem

ordem and origem are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ordem is recorded at frequency rank #609, classified as anoun. origem is at rank #1,082, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɔ.ˈɾi.ʒɐ̃j̃/.

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 1691, this pair ranks #73,827 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ordem vs origem

Shared letters: emor. Private to "ordem": d. Private to "origem": gi.

"ordem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "origem" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ordemodrem · orddem · ordemm · ordme · oredm · orrdem · rodem
  • origemoirgem · orgiem · oriegm · origemm · origgem · origme · orrigem · roigem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ordem" for "origem" ever safe?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "ordem" vs "origem" - which ranks higher?
"ordem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #609 in our Portuguese list, against #1,082 for "origem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "ordem" vs "origem" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ordem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "origem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #73,827 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ordem" and "origem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "orbe vs ordem". 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 #73,827 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list