ação vs ato, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ação” is an intj and “ato” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#594
“ação” frequency rank: #1,326
“ato” frequency rank: 1920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ação	ato
Definition	expressa a grupo de participantes envolvidos em uma interpretação e sua gravação, que dêem início à sua atividade coordenada e conjuntamente	processo de fazer algo; manifestação real e tangível

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ação and ato apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

ação

3 ch

ato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ação is /ɐ.ˈsɐ̃u̯ while ato is /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ação is recorded at frequency rank #594, classified as anintj, pronounced /ɐ.ˈsɐ̃u̯. ato is at rank #1,326, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/.

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 1920, this pair ranks #73,605 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ação vs ato

Shared letters: ao. Private to "ação": ãç. Private to "ato": t.

"ação" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "ato" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

ação#594

ato#1,326

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ação" and "ato" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ação" is an intj and "ato" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ação" or "ato"?

"ação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #594 in our Portuguese list, against #1,326 for "ato". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ação vs ato

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “ação”; for a noun, it's “ato”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ação” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable