água

/ˈa.gwɐ/

//ˈa.gwɐ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“água” is in the everyday core of Portuguese, ranked #254 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.

#254
frequency rank, Portuguese
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - substância (H₂O) líquida e incolor, insípida e inodora, essencial para a vida da maior parte dos organismos vivos e excelente solvente para muitas outras substâncias; óxido de hidrogênio

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

água vs ama
25% similar
água vs ala
25% similar
água vs asa
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for água
PropertyValue
Headwordágua
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈa.gwɐ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#254
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “água” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). água lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for água is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈa.gwɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #254 in overall Portuguese word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 20 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for água, with forms such as "gáua", "ágau", and "ággua". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ama", "ala", "asa", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Portuguese form is água, spelled Á-G-U-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    substância (H₂O) líquida e incolor, insípida e inodora, essencial para a vida da maior parte dos organismos vivos e excelente solvente para muitas outras substâncias; óxido de hidrogênio
  2. 2
    a parte líquida que cobre aproximadamente 70 % da superfície terrestre, sob a forma de mares, lagos e rios
  3. 3
    líquido que corre das árvores quando feridas ou queimadas
  4. 4
    suco de certos frutos
  5. 5
    qualquer secreção orgânica aquosa, como suor, saliva, lágrimas, humor, urina etc.
  6. 6
    secreção patológica que se escoa de um órgão; corrimento
  7. 7
    o mesmo que água-comum
  8. 8
    sopa rala
  9. 9
    ondeado e brilho que se observam no cabelo ou em certos mármores, madeiras (sobretudo quando polidas), tecidos, estofos etc.
  10. 10
    qualidade, nível intelectual ou artístico
  11. 11
    tarefa que não apresenta dificuldade ou não exige esforço
  12. 12
    qualquer medicamento em forma líquida; infusão, cozimento, decocção
  13. 13
    turvação mental causada por excesso de álcool; embriaguez
  14. 14
    época em que os grandes cardumes de peixes nadam em direção às nascentes dos rios
  15. 15
    aguardente de cana; cachaça
  16. 16
    rio ou ribeiro
  17. 17
    vertente de telhado
  18. 18
    solução aquosa onde os cristais se depositam
  19. 19
    líquido obtido por destilação ou infusão
  20. 20
    transparência de algumas pedras calcárias

This word in other languages

water(English)agua(Español)eau(Français)Wasser(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gáua,ágau,ággua,áuga

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of água - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

gáua2ágau2ággua1áuga2
Edit distance from "água"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "água"?
"água" is spelled Á-G-U-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈa.gwɐ/.
What does "água" mean?
As a noun, "água" means: substância (H₂O) líquida e incolor, insípida e inodora, essencial para a vida da maior parte dos organismos vivos e excelente solvente para muitas outras substâncias; óxido de hidrogênio
What words are commonly confused with "água"?
"água" is commonly confused with "ama", "ala", "asa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "água"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "água" is /ˈa.gwɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "água" come from?
"água" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “água”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is Á-G-U-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈa.gwɐ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “ama” - see the side-by-side comparison. água vs ama
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list