achavavsandavaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,655
“achava” frequency rank
#8,145
“andava” frequency rank
11800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature achava andava
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo achar primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo andar

Where the eye mixes achava and andava

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. achava and andava follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
achava
6 ch
andava

Look-alike desk: achava vs andava

A purely visual mix-up. achava ([a.ˈʃa.va]) and andava (/ɐ̃ⁿ.ˈda.vɐ/) 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 11800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

achava is recorded at frequency rank #3,655, classified as averb, pronounced [a.ˈʃa.va]. andava is at rank #8,145, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ̃ⁿ.ˈda.vɐ/.

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 11800, this pair ranks #60,973 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of achava vs andava

Shared letters: av. Private to "achava": ch. Private to "andava": dn.

"achava" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "andava" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • achava ← acahva · acchava · achaav · achavva · achhava · achvaa · ahcava · cahava
  • andava ← adnava · anadva · andaav · andavva · anddava · andvaa · anndava · nadava

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "achava" for "andava" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([a.ˈʃa.va] versus /ɐ̃ⁿ.ˈda.vɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "achava" or "andava" show up more?
"achava" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,655 in our Portuguese list, against #8,145 for "andava". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "achava" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "andava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #60,973 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "achava" and "andava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "andava vs andavam". 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 #60,973 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