abaixar vs abaixo, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“abaixar” is a verb and “abaixo” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,754
“abaixar” frequency rank: #708
“abaixo” frequency rank: 15462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abaixar	abaixo
Definition	inclinar para baixo (transitivo)	em lugar menos alto

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abaixar and abaixo apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

abaixar

6 ch

abaixo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abaixar is /a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/ while abaixo is /ɐ.ˈbaj.ʃu/. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abaixar is recorded at frequency rank #14,754, classified as averb, pronounced /a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/. abaixo is at rank #708, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.ˈbaj.ʃu/.

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 15462, this pair ranks #56,349 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abaixar vs abaixo

Shared letters: abix. Private to "abaixar": r. Private to "abaixo": o.

"abaixar" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "abaixo" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

abaixar ← aabixar · abaiaxr · abaixarr · abaixra · abaixxar · abaxiar · abbaixar · abiaxar
abaixo ← aabixo · abaiox · abaixxo · abaxio · abbaixo · abiaxo · baaixo

Frequency comparison

abaixar#14,754

abaixo#708

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abaixar" and "abaixo" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abaixar" is a verb and "abaixo" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "abaixar" or "abaixo"?

"abaixo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #708 in our Portuguese list, against #14,754 for "abaixar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering abaixar vs abaixo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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