Which to use
“abalo” and “abraço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,870
- “abalo” frequency rank
- #3,952
- “abraço” frequency rank
- 29822
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abalo | abraço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de abalar | gesto de afeto no qual uma pessoa contorna com seus braços a outra pessoa, animal, objeto, etc., como forma de manifestar carinho, amizade, apoio, conforto, etc. |
Where the eye mixes abalo and abraço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. abalo runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against abraço's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abalo with abraço
A purely visual mix-up. abalo (/ɐ.ˈba.lu/) and abraço (/aˈbɾa.su/) 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 29822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abalo is recorded at frequency rank #25,870, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.ˈba.lu/. abraço is at rank #3,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced /aˈbɾa.su/.
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 29822, this pair ranks #38,741 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abalo vs abraço
Shared letters: abo. Private to "abalo": l. Private to "abraço": rç.
"abalo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "abraço" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- abalo ← aablo · aballo · abaol · abbalo · ablao · baalo
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abalo" and "abraço" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abalo" vs "abraço" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abalo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abraço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,741 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abalo" and "abraço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abalo vs alado". 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 #38,741 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.