abaladovsapagadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“abalado” and “apagado” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,952
“abalado” frequency rank
#13,658
“apagado” frequency rank
31610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abalado apagado
Definition que se abalou extinto

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
abalado
7 ch
apagado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abalado (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈla.du/) and apagado (/ɐ.pɐ.ˈɡa.du/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abalado is recorded at frequency rank #17,952, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.bɐ.ˈla.du/. apagado is at rank #13,658, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.pɐ.ˈɡa.du/.

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 31610, this pair ranks #36,421 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abalado vs apagado

Shared letters: ado. Private to "abalado": bl. Private to "apagado": gp.

"abalado" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "apagado" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abaladoaablado · abaaldo · abaladdo · abalaod · abaldao · aballado · abbalado · ablaado
  • apagadoaapgado · apaagdo · apagaddo · apagaod · apagdao · apaggado · apgaado · appagado

Frequency comparison

abalado#17,952
apagado#13,658

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abalado" and "apagado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈla.du/ versus /ɐ.pɐ.ˈɡa.du/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abalado" or "apagado"?
"apagado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,658 in our Portuguese list, against #17,952 for "abalado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abalado vs apagado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abalado” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

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