Which to use
“os” is an article and “ovos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19
- “os” frequency rank
- #3,425
- “ovos” frequency rank
- 3444
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | os | ovos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | usado para apontar um nome definido, único | plural de ovo |
Where the eye mixes os and ovos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between os and ovos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: os is /uʃ/, /us/ (menos frequente); enfático: /oʃ/, /os/ (menos frequente) while ovos is /ˈɔ.vʊs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “os” sits inside “ovos”, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3444, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
os is recorded at frequency rank #19, classified as anarticle, pronounced /uʃ/, /us/ (menos frequente); enfático: /oʃ/, /os/ (menos frequente). ovos is at rank #3,425, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔ.vʊs/.
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 3444, this pair ranks #71,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of os vs ovos
Shared letters: os. Private to "os": -. Private to "ovos": v.
"os" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ovos" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ovos ← oovs · ovoss · ovso · ovvos · voos
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "os" and "ovos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "os" or "ovos"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "os" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ovos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "os" and "ovos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ons vs ovos". 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 #71,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.