Which to use
“abraçar” and “atrasar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,588
- “abraçar” frequency rank
- #10,137
- “atrasar” frequency rank
- 17725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abraçar | atrasar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | envolver com os braços | induzir a demora ou o adiamento de algo |
Where the eye mixes abraçar and atrasar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abraçar and atrasar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abraçar with atrasar
A purely visual mix-up. abraçar (/ɐ.bɾɐ.ˈsaɾ/) and atrasar (/a.tɾaˈza(ʁ)/) 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 17725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abraçar is recorded at frequency rank #7,588, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.bɾɐ.ˈsaɾ/. atrasar is at rank #10,137, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.tɾaˈza(ʁ)/.
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 17725, this pair ranks #53,449 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abraçar vs atrasar
Shared letters: ar. Private to "abraçar": bç. Private to "atrasar": st.
"abraçar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "atrasar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- atrasar ← artasar · atarsar · atraasr · atrasarr · atrasra · atrassar · atrrasar · atrsaar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abraçar" and "atrasar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "abraçar" or "atrasar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abraçar" and "atrasar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abraçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atrasar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,449 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abraçar" and "atrasar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abraçar vs aplacar". 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 #53,449 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.