piãovsproWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: pião is a noun, pro is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pião” is a noun and “pro” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,727
“pião” frequency rank
#1,173
“pro” frequency rank
36900
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pião pro
Definition brinquedo que consiste em puxar uma corda enrolada a um objeto afunilado, geralmente de madeira ou plástico e com uma ponta de ferro, colocando-o em rotação no solo, mantendo-se erguido para

Letter map: pião vs pro

Shared letters muted; letters that set pião and pro apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. pião runs 4 letters (CVVV) against pro's 3 (CCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
pião
3 ch
pro

Grammar separator: pião vs pro

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pião is anoun and proapreposition. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pião is recorded at frequency rank #35,727, classified as anoun. pro is at rank #1,173, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈprɔ/ ouvir^(fonte ?).

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 36900, this pair ranks #29,816 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pião vs pro

Shared letters: op. Private to "pião": iã. Private to "pro": r.

"pião" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "pro" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pião" and "pro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pião" is a noun and "pro" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "pião" vs "pro" - which ranks higher?
"pro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,173 in our Portuguese list, against #35,727 for "pião". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "pião" and "pro".

  • Full dictionary entry for "pião" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #29,816 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pião" and "pro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pião vs pix". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #29,816 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