aceitarvsaceitouConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,695
“aceitar” frequency rank
#4,608
“aceitou” frequency rank
6303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aceitar aceitou
Definition concordar em receber algo que é dado terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo de aceitar

Where the eye mixes aceitar and aceitou

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aceitar (VCVVCVC) and aceitou (VCVVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
aceitar
7 ch
aceitou

Visual trap between aceitar and aceitou

A purely visual mix-up. aceitar (/ɐ.sɐj.ˈtaɾ/) and aceitou ([a.sej.ˈtow] ou [a.sej.ˈtoː])]]) 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 6303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aceitar is recorded at frequency rank #1,695, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.sɐj.ˈtaɾ/. aceitou is at rank #4,608, tagged as averb, pronounced [a.sej.ˈtow] ou [a.sej.ˈtoː])]].

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 6303, this pair ranks #68,152 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aceitar vs aceitou

Shared letters: aceit. Private to "aceitar": r. Private to "aceitou": ou.

"aceitar" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC  ·  "aceitou" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aceitar ← acceitar · aceiatr · aceitarr · aceitra · aceittar · acetiar · acietar · aecitar
  • aceitou ← acceitou · aceiotu · aceittou · aceituo · acetiou · acietou · aecitou · caeitou

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aceitar" for "aceitou" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.sɐj.ˈtaɾ/ versus [a.sej.ˈtow] ou [a.sej.ˈtoː])]]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aceitar" vs "aceitou" - which ranks higher?
"aceitar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,695 in our Portuguese list, against #4,608 for "aceitou". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aceitar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aceitou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #68,152 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aceitar" and "aceitou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aceitar vs acentuar". 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 #68,152 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list