tão vs tio, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“tão” is an adverb and “tio” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#119
“tão” frequency rank: #2,211
“tio” frequency rank: 2330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tão	tio
Definition	tanto, com tal intensidade	irmão da mãe ou do pai

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tão and tio apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

tão

3 ch

tio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tão is /ˈtɐ̃w̃/ while tio is /ti.u/ [t͡ʃiu̯], [tiu̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ã in “tão” becomes i in “tio”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tão is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈtɐ̃w̃/. tio is at rank #2,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ti.u/ [t͡ʃiu̯], [tiu̯].

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 2330, this pair ranks #73,088 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tão vs tio

Shared letters: ot. Private to "tão": ã. Private to "tio": i.

"tão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tio" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

tão#119

tio#2,211

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tão" and "tio" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tão" is an adverb and "tio" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "tão" or "tio"?

"tão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #119 in our Portuguese list, against #2,211 for "tio". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tão vs tio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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