abraçovsarcoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,952
“abraço” frequency rank
#4,287
“arco” frequency rank
8239
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abraço arco
Definition gesto de afeto no qual uma pessoa contorna com seus braços a outra pessoa, animal, objeto, etc., como forma de manifestar carinho, amizade, apoio, conforto, etc. ente geométrico cuja principal característica é a curva

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abraço and arco apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
abraço
4 ch
arco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abraço (/aˈbɾa.su/) and arco (/ˈaɾ.ku/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abraço is recorded at frequency rank #3,952, classified as anoun, pronounced /aˈbɾa.su/. arco is at rank #4,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɾ.ku/.

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 8239, this pair ranks #65,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abraço vs arco

Shared letters: aor. Private to "abraço": . Private to "arco": c.

"abraço" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "arco" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arcoarcco · aroc · arrco · raco

Frequency comparison

abraço#3,952
arco#4,287

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abraço" and "arco" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/aˈbɾa.su/ versus /ˈaɾ.ku/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abraço" or "arco"?
"abraço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,952 in our Portuguese list, against #4,287 for "arco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abraço vs arco

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 “abraço” 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