Which to use
“abalar” and “acalmar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,655
- “abalar” frequency rank
- #6,495
- “acalmar” frequency rank
- 23150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abalar | acalmar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fazer tremer ou oscilar | tornar calmo; pacificar |
Where the eye mixes abalar and acalmar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abalar runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against acalmar's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abalar vs acalmar
A purely visual mix-up. abalar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/) and acalmar (/ɐ.kaɫ.ˈmaɾ/) 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 23150, 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/. acalmar is at rank #6,495, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.kaɫ.ˈmaɾ/.
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 23150, this pair ranks #46,729 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abalar vs acalmar
Shared letters: alr. Private to "abalar": b. Private to "acalmar": cm.
"abalar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "acalmar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abalar" and "acalmar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "abalar" or "acalmar" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abalar" and "acalmar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abalar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acalmar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,729 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abalar" and "acalmar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abalar vs abarcar". 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 #46,729 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.