activavsactiveWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: activa is a verb, active is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“activa” is a verb and “active” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,500
“activa” frequency rank
#22,852
“active” frequency rank
37352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature activa active
Definition terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito simples do indicativo de activer atuante

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set activa and active apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
activa
6 ch
active

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

activa and active form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - a in “activa” becomes e in “active” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

activa is recorded at frequency rank #14,500, classified as averb, pronounced [ak.ti.va]. active is at rank #22,852, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈæk.tɪv/.

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 37352, this pair ranks #29,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

activa#14,500
active#22,852

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "activa" and "active" be used interchangeably?
No, "activa" and "active" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering activa vs active

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list