Which to use
“vaga” and “vai” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,456
- “vaga” frequency rank
- #49
- “vai” frequency rank
- 2505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vaga | vai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | feminino de vago | relativo aos vais |
Where the eye mixes vaga and vai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: vaga vs vai
A purely visual mix-up. vaga (/ˈva.ɡɐ/) and vai (/ˈvaj/) 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 2505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vaga is recorded at frequency rank #2,456, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɡɐ/. vai is at rank #49, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈvaj/.
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 2505, this pair ranks #72,868 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vaga vs vai
Shared letters: av. Private to "vaga": g. Private to "vai": i.
"vaga" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vai" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- vaga ← avga · vaag · vagga · vgaa · vvaga
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vaga" and "vai" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vaga" vs "vai" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vaga" and "vai" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vaga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,868 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vaga" and "vai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vaga vs vagem". 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 #72,868 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.