pero vs preço, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pero” is a conjunction and “preço” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,884
“pero” frequency rank: #996
“preço” frequency rank: 18880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pero	preço
Definition	mas, porém	custo unitário de qualquer coisa que possa ser vendida

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pero and preço apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

pero

5 ch

preço

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pero is /ˈpe.ɾu/ while preço is /ˈpɾe.su/. 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 (conjunction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pero is recorded at frequency rank #17,884, classified as aconj, pronounced /ˈpe.ɾu/. preço is at rank #996, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɾe.su/.

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 18880, this pair ranks #51,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pero vs preço

Shared letters: eopr. Private to "pero": -. Private to "preço": ç.

"pero" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "preço" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

pero ← epro · peor · perro · ppero · preo

Frequency comparison

pero#17,884

preço#996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pero" and "preço" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pero" is a conjunction and "preço" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "pero" or "preço"?

"preço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #996 in our Portuguese list, against #17,884 for "pero". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pero vs preço

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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