Which to use
“ache” and “ale” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,947
- “ache” frequency rank
- #17,419
- “ale” frequency rank
- 27366
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ache | ale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dor, axe | reflexo da lua na água |
Where the eye mixes ache and ale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ache with ale
A purely visual mix-up. ache (/eɪk/) and ale (/a.ˈle/) 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 27366, 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/. ale is at rank #17,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈle/.
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 27366, this pair ranks #41,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ache vs ale
Shared letters: ae. Private to "ache": ch. Private to "ale": l.
"ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ale" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ache ← acche · aceh · achhe · ahce · cahe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ache" for "ale" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ache" or "ale" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "ale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #41,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ache" and "ale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ale". 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 #41,611 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.