abalar vs abarcar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,655
“abalar” frequency rank: #43,732
“abarcar” frequency rank: 60387
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abalar	abarcar
Definition	fazer tremer ou oscilar	abranger

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

abalar

7 ch

abarcar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abalar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/) and abarcar (/ɐ.bɐɾ.ˈkaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abalar is recorded at frequency rank #16,655, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/. abarcar is at rank #43,732, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.bɐɾ.ˈkaɾ/.

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 60387, this pair ranks #7,680 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abalar vs abarcar

Shared letters: abr. Private to "abalar": l. Private to "abarcar": c.

"abalar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "abarcar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

abalar ← aablar · abaalr · abalarr · aballar · abalra · abbalar · ablaar · baalar
abarcar ← aabrcar · abacrar · abaracr · abarcarr · abarccar · abarcra · abarrcar · abbarcar

Frequency comparison

abalar#16,655

abarcar#43,732

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abalar" and "abarcar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/ versus /ɐ.bɐɾ.ˈkaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "abalar" or "abarcar"?

"abalar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,655 in our Portuguese list, against #43,732 for "abarcar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abalar vs abarcar

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 “abalar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable