vala

/ˈva.lɐ/

//ˈva.lɐ// noun

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

The verdict

“vala” has 5 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #16,196. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,196
frequency rank, Portuguese
501
“V” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - escavação em um terreno, de forma alongada e mais ou menos profunda, feita para variados fins, mais frequentemente para condução de águas, drenagem, ou instalação de encanamentos, esgotos etc

Corpus desk

Index PT-vala · vala · Portuguese

vala · rank #16,196 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,196
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 501
  • PHOTO-FINISH vietnamita

Nearest frequency peer: vietnamita (+2 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pares de rank junto ao íman ortográfico “vala”

Mesma faixa de raridade: útil se um typo cair num lema vizinho

corpus weight

What this shows “vala” está entre estes pares FrequencyWords; a profundidade de typo mede-se à parte no gráfico de distância de edição.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

vala vs vão
25% similar
vala vs via
50% similar
vala vs vol
50% similar

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

Key facts for vala
PropertyValue
Headwordvala
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈva.lɐ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,196
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “vala”

A frequência vai do punhado de palavras do dia a dia (esquerda) à cauda longa quase nunca usada (direita).valacai aqui:

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

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “vietnamita” (#16,198), “urgentemente” (#16,193), “têxtil” (#16,191). Entre 501 lemas com “V”, “vala” fica em #16,196. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around vala (IPA /ˈva.lɐ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,196 among 501 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for vala, with forms such as "avla", "vaal", and "valla". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vão", "via", "vol", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Portuguese form is vala, spelled V-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    escavação em um terreno, de forma alongada e mais ou menos profunda, feita para variados fins, mais frequentemente para condução de águas, drenagem, ou instalação de encanamentos, esgotos etc
  2. 2
    leito de certos rios cujas águas secam regularmente em determinadas épocas do ano, geralmente entre maio e setembro
  3. 3
    o mesmo que vala comum
  4. 4
    o mesmo que matumbo ('cova')
  5. 5
    espaço limitado por traves que a bola deve transpor, para marcar ponto no jogo

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how vala appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. No buraco da vala, a laje é brinquedo.

Synonyms

golmeta

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • avla
  • vaal
  • valla
  • vlaa
  • vvala

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vala - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

avla2vaal2valla1vlaa2vvala1
Edit distance from "vala"

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 "vala"?
"vala" is spelled V-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈva.lɐ/.
What does "vala" mean?
As a noun, "vala" means: escavação em um terreno, de forma alongada e mais ou menos profunda, feita para variados fins, mais frequentemente para condução de águas, drenagem, ou instalação de encanamentos, esgotos etc
What words are commonly confused with "vala"?
"vala" is commonly confused with "vão", "via", "vol". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vala" is /ˈva.lɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "vala" come from?
"vala" 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.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wiki#16,202step#16,178soar#16,172rito#16,163

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

bibi5 variantslaje5 variantshomo5 variantsluar5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list