vagovsvamosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vago is a adjective, vamos is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vago” is an adjective and “vamos” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,858
“vago” frequency rank
#207
“vamos” frequency rank
14065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vago vamos
Definition sem um sentido bem definido primeira pessoa do plural do indicativo presente do verbo ir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vago and vamos apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
vago
5 ch
vamos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: vago is anadjective and vamosaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vago is recorded at frequency rank #13,858, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɡu/. vamos is at rank #207, tagged as averb.

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 14065, this pair ranks #58,119 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vago vs vamos

Shared letters: aov. Private to "vago": g. Private to "vamos": ms.

"vago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "vamos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vagoavgo · vaggo · vaog · vgao · vvago
  • vamosavmos · vammos · vamoss · vamso · vaoms · vmaos · vvamos

Frequency comparison

vago#13,858
vamos#207

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vago" and "vamos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vago" is an adjective and "vamos" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vago" or "vamos"?
"vamos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #207 in our Portuguese list, against #13,858 for "vago". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering vago vs vamos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list