vácuovsvagoConfusable pair

Which to use

“vácuo” and “vago” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,280
“vácuo” frequency rank
#13,858
“vago” frequency rank
23138
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vácuo vago
Definition vazio sem um sentido bem definido

Where the eye mixes vácuo and vago

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vácuo runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against vago's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
vácuo
4 ch
vago

Visual trap between vácuo and vago

A purely visual mix-up. vácuo (/ˈva.kwu/) and vago (/ˈva.ɡu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vácuo is recorded at frequency rank #9,280, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.kwu/. vago is at rank #13,858, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɡu/.

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 23138, this pair ranks #46,742 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vácuo vs vago

Shared letters: ov. Private to "vácuo": cuá. Private to "vago": ag.

"vácuo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "vago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vago ← avgo · vaggo · vaog · vgao · vvago

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vácuo" and "vago" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈva.kwu/ versus /ˈva.ɡu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vácuo" vs "vago" - which ranks higher?
"vácuo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,280 in our Portuguese list, against #13,858 for "vago". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "vácuo" and "vago" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vácuo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vago" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #46,742 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vácuo" and "vago" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vago vs velo". 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 #46,742 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