vamos vs vós, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#207
“vamos” frequency rank: #6,014
“vós” frequency rank: 6221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vamos	vós
Definition	primeira pessoa do plural do indicativo presente do verbo ir	usado para indicar as pessoas a quem se fala

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vamos and vós apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

vamos

3 ch

vós

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: vamos is averb and vósapronoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vamos is recorded at frequency rank #207, classified as averb. vós is at rank #6,014, tagged as apron, pronounced [vɔʃ], [vɔs].

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 6221, this pair ranks #68,250 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vamos vs vós

Shared letters: sv. Private to "vamos": amo. Private to "vós": ó.

"vamos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vós" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

vamos ← avmos · vammos · vamoss · vamso · vaoms · vmaos · vvamos

Frequency comparison

vamos#207

vós#6,014

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vamos" and "vós" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vamos" is a verb and "vós" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "vamos" or "vós"?

"vamos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #207 in our Portuguese list, against #6,014 for "vós". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering vamos vs vós

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vamos”; for a pronoun, it's “vós”.
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