Which to use
“abaixo” is an adverb and “abalo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #708
- “abaixo” frequency rank
- #25,870
- “abalo” frequency rank
- 26578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abaixo | abalo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | em lugar menos alto | ato ou efeito de abalar |
Where the eye mixes abaixo and abalo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. abaixo runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against abalo's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abaixo vs abalo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abaixo is /ɐ.ˈbaj.ʃu/ while abalo is /ɐ.ˈba.lu/. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abaixo is recorded at frequency rank #708, classified as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.ˈbaj.ʃu/. abalo is at rank #25,870, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.ˈba.lu/.
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 26578, this pair ranks #42,563 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abaixo vs abalo
Shared letters: abo. Private to "abaixo": ix. Private to "abalo": l.
"abaixo" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV · "abalo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abaixo" and "abalo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "abaixo" or "abalo" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abaixo" and "abalo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abaixo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abalo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,563 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abaixo" and "abalo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abalo vs alado". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #42,563 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.