abanarvsacatarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,979
“abanar” frequency rank
#32,036
“acatar” frequency rank
67015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abanar acatar
Definition agitar o ar com abano respeitar, venerar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abanar and acatar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
abanar
6 ch
acatar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abanar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/) and acatar (/ɐ.kɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 67015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abanar is recorded at frequency rank #34,979, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/. acatar is at rank #32,036, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.kɐ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 67015, this pair ranks #4,766 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abanar vs acatar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "abanar": bn. Private to "acatar": ct.

"abanar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "acatar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abanaraabnar · abaanr · abanarr · abannar · abanra · abbanar · abnaar · baanar
  • acataraactar · acaatr · acatarr · acatra · acattar · accatar · actaar · caatar

Frequency comparison

abanar#34,979
acatar#32,036

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abanar" and "acatar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/ versus /ɐ.kɐ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abanar" or "acatar"?
"acatar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,036 in our Portuguese list, against #34,979 for "abanar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abanar vs acatar

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list