Which to use
“aditivo” and “ativo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,978
- “aditivo” frequency rank
- #3,881
- “ativo” frequency rank
- 33859
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aditivo | ativo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | adicional | diligente, expedito |
Where the eye mixes aditivo and ativo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aditivo runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against ativo's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aditivo vs ativo
A purely visual mix-up. aditivo (/ɐ.di.ˈti.vu/) and ativo (/a.ˈʧi.vu/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33859, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aditivo is recorded at frequency rank #29,978, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.di.ˈti.vu/. ativo is at rank #3,881, tagged as anadj, pronounced /a.ˈʧi.vu/.
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 33859, this pair ranks #33,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aditivo vs ativo
Shared letters: aiotv. Private to "aditivo": d. Private to "ativo": -.
"aditivo" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "ativo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aditivo" for "ativo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "aditivo" vs "ativo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aditivo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ativo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aditivo" and "ativo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aditivo vs afetivo". 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 #33,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.