vós vs vovó, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,014
“vós” frequency rank: #8,704
“vovó” frequency rank: 14718
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vós	vovó
Definition	usado para indicar as pessoas a quem se fala	avó

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

vós

4 ch

vovó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vós is [vɔʃ], [vɔs] while vovó is /vɔ.ˈvɔ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vós is recorded at frequency rank #6,014, classified as apron, pronounced [vɔʃ], [vɔs]. vovó is at rank #8,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vɔ.ˈvɔ/.

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 14718, this pair ranks #57,283 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vós vs vovó

Shared letters: vó. Private to "vós": s. Private to "vovó": o.

"vós" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "vovó" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequency comparison

vós#6,014

vovó#8,704

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"vós" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,014 in our Portuguese list, against #8,704 for "vovó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vós vs vovó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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