Which to use
“otto” is a num and “ouro” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,925
- “otto” frequency rank
- #876
- “ouro” frequency rank
- 12801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | otto | ouro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | oito (8, VIII) | da cor de ouro |
Where the eye mixes otto and ouro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: otto vs ouro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: otto is /ˈɔtto/ while ouro is /ˈow.ɾu/, /ˈo.ɾu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
otto is recorded at frequency rank #11,925, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈɔtto/. ouro is at rank #876, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈow.ɾu/, /ˈo.ɾu/.
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 12801, this pair ranks #59,682 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of otto vs ouro
Shared letters: o. Private to "otto": t. Private to "ouro": ru.
"otto" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ouro" · 4 letters · shape VVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "otto" for "ouro" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "otto" or "ouro" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "otto" and "ouro" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "otto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ouro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,682 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "otto" and "ouro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "omo vs otto". 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 #59,682 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.