Which to use
“ui” is an intj and “ur” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,875
- “ui” frequency rank
- #33,653
- “ur” frequency rank
- 53528
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ui | ur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | exprime surpresa, admiração, repugnância | aquático, da água |
Where the eye mixes ui and ur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ui with ur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ui is /ˈuj/ while ur is /ur/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “ui” becomes r in “ur”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53528, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ui is recorded at frequency rank #19,875, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈuj/. ur is at rank #33,653, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ur/.
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 53528, this pair ranks #11,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ui vs ur
Shared letters: u. Private to "ui": i. Private to "ur": r.
"ui" · 2 letters · shape VV · "ur" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ui" and "ur" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ui" or "ur" 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 "ui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ui" and "ur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ú vs ur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.