Which to use
“abortar” and “adotar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,175
- “abortar” frequency rank
- #6,258
- “adotar” frequency rank
- 26433
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abortar | adotar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | produzir antes do tempo | assumir para si a responsabilidade jurídica de criar (criança ou adolescente): |
Where the eye mixes abortar and adotar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abortar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against adotar's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abortar with adotar
A purely visual mix-up. abortar (/ɐ.buɾ.ˈtaɾ/) and adotar (/ɐ.dɔ.ˈtaɾ/, /ɐ.dɔ.ˈta/) 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 26433, 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/. adotar is at rank #6,258, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.dɔ.ˈtaɾ/, /ɐ.dɔ.ˈta/.
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 26433, this pair ranks #42,720 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abortar vs adotar
Shared letters: aort. Private to "abortar": b. Private to "adotar": d.
"abortar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "adotar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abortar" for "adotar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abortar" vs "adotar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abortar" and "adotar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abortar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adotar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,720 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abortar" and "adotar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abarcar vs abortar". 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 #42,720 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.