Which to use
“abalar” and “apelar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,655
- “abalar” frequency rank
- #16,444
- “apelar” frequency rank
- 33099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abalar | apelar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fazer tremer ou oscilar | chamar em socorro |
Where the eye mixes abalar and apelar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: abalar vs apelar
A purely visual mix-up. abalar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/) and apelar (/ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/) 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 33099, 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/. apelar is at rank #16,444, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/.
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 33099, this pair ranks #34,523 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abalar vs apelar
Shared letters: alr. Private to "abalar": b. Private to "apelar": ep.
"abalar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "apelar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abalar" and "apelar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abalar" vs "apelar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abalar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apelar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,523 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abalar" and "apelar" 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 #34,523 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.