abolir vs abrir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#25,522
“abolir” frequency rank: #1,038
“abrir” frequency rank: 26560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abolir	abrir
Definition	anular, extinguir	levar de um estado fechado para um aberto, descerrar

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

abolir

5 ch

abrir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abolir ([a.bo.ˈliɾ]) and abrir (/ɐ.ˈbɾiɾ/) 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 26560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abolir is recorded at frequency rank #25,522, classified as averb, pronounced [a.bo.ˈliɾ]. abrir is at rank #1,038, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈbɾiɾ/.

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 26560, this pair ranks #42,588 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abolir vs abrir

Shared letters: abir. Private to "abolir": lo. Private to "abrir": -.

"abolir" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "abrir" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

abolir ← abbolir · abloir · aboilr · abolirr · abollir · abolri · aoblir · baolir
abrir ← abbrir · abirr · abrirr · abrri · abrrir · arbir · barir

Frequency comparison

abolir#25,522

abrir#1,038

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abolir" and "abrir" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([a.bo.ˈliɾ] versus /ɐ.ˈbɾiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "abolir" or "abrir"?

"abrir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,038 in our Portuguese list, against #25,522 for "abolir". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering abolir vs abrir

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