abalar vs avaliar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,655
“abalar” frequency rank: #3,534
“avaliar” frequency rank: 20189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abalar	avaliar
Definition	fazer tremer ou oscilar	determinar o valor de

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

abalar

7 ch

avaliar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abalar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈlaɾ/) and avaliar (/ɐ.vɐ.ˈljaɾ/) 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 20189, 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/. avaliar is at rank #3,534, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.vɐ.ˈljaɾ/.

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 20189, this pair ranks #50,385 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abalar vs avaliar

Shared letters: alr. Private to "abalar": b. Private to "avaliar": iv.

"abalar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "avaliar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

abalar ← aablar · abaalr · abalarr · aballar · abalra · abbalar · ablaar · baalar
avaliar ← aavliar · availar · avalair · avaliarr · avalira · avalliar · avlaiar · avvaliar

Frequency comparison

abalar#16,655

avaliar#3,534

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"avaliar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,534 in our Portuguese list, against #16,655 for "abalar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abalar vs avaliar

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