vamosvsváriosWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#207
“vamos” frequency rank
#325
“vários” frequency rank
532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vamos vários
Definition primeira pessoa do plural do indicativo presente do verbo ir plural de vário

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
vamos
6 ch
vários

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: vamos is averb and váriosanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vamos is recorded at frequency rank #207, classified as averb. vários is at rank #325, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɾjuʃ/.

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 532, this pair ranks #75,137 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vamos vs vários

Shared letters: osv. Private to "vamos": am. Private to "vários": irá.

"vamos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "vários" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vamosavmos · vammos · vamoss · vamso · vaoms · vmaos · vvamos

Frequency comparison

vamos#207
vários#325

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vamos" and "vários" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vamos" is a verb and "vários" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vamos" or "vários"?
"vamos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #207 in our Portuguese list, against #325 for "vários". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vamos vs vários

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vamos”; for an adjective, it's “vários”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vamos” 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