abortarvsadoptarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,175
“abortar” frequency rank
#22,510
“adoptar” frequency rank
42685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abortar adoptar
Definition produzir antes do tempo adotar

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
abortar
7 ch
adoptar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abortar (/ɐ.buɾ.ˈtaɾ/) and adoptar (/a.dɔp.ˈtar/) 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 42685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abortar is recorded at frequency rank #20,175, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.buɾ.ˈtaɾ/. adoptar is at rank #22,510, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.dɔp.ˈtar/.

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 42685, this pair ranks #23,068 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abortar vs adoptar

Shared letters: aort. Private to "abortar": b. Private to "adoptar": dp.

"abortar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "adoptar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abortarabbortar · aboratr · aborrtar · abortarr · abortra · aborttar · abotrar · abrotar
  • adoptaraddoptar · adopatr · adopptar · adoptarr · adoptra · adopttar · adotpar · adpotar

Frequency comparison

abortar#20,175
adoptar#22,510

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abortar" and "adoptar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.buɾ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /a.dɔp.ˈtar/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abortar" or "adoptar"?
"abortar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,175 in our Portuguese list, against #22,510 for "adoptar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abortar vs adoptar

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 “abortar” 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