Which to use
“ouro” is an adjective and “outro” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #876
- “ouro” frequency rank
- #141
- “outro” frequency rank
- 1017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ouro | outro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | da cor de ouro | que é diferente da pessoa ou da coisa que foi mencionada; que não é o mesmo; diverso, diferente |
Where the eye mixes ouro and outro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ouro runs 4 letters (VVCV) against outro's 5 (VVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ouro and outro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ouro is /ˈow.ɾu/, /ˈo.ɾu/ while outro is /ˈow.tɾu/. 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 (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ouro is recorded at frequency rank #876, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈow.ɾu/, /ˈo.ɾu/. outro is at rank #141, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈow.tɾu/.
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 1017, this pair ranks #74,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ouro vs outro
Shared letters: oru. Private to "ouro": -. Private to "outro": t.
"ouro" · 4 letters · shape VVCV · "outro" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ouro" and "outro" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ouro" or "outro" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ouro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ouro" and "outro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ori vs ouro". 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 #74,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.