Which to use
“ache” and “açude” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,947
- “ache” frequency rank
- #16,686
- “açude” frequency rank
- 26633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ache | açude |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dor, axe | construção destinada a represar as águas de um rio |
Where the eye mixes ache and açude
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ache runs 4 letters (VCCV) against açude's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ache vs açude
A purely visual mix-up. ache (/eɪk/) and açude (/ɐ.ˈsu.dɨ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ache is recorded at frequency rank #9,947, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪk/. açude is at rank #16,686, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.ˈsu.dɨ/.
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 26633, this pair ranks #42,477 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ache vs açude
Shared letters: ae. Private to "ache": ch. Private to "açude": duç.
"ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "açude" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ache ← acche · aceh · achhe · ahce · cahe
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ache" and "açude" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ache" or "açude" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "açude" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,477 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ache" and "açude" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acid vs açude". 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 #42,477 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.