Which to use
“afeição” and “aflição” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,213
- “afeição” frequency rank
- #15,246
- “aflição” frequency rank
- 39459
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | afeição | aflição |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de afeiçoar; ternura; afecto; amizade; amor: | agonia; sofrimento intenso, tristeza pungente |
Where the eye mixes afeição and aflição
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. afeição (VCVVCVV) and aflição (VCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses afeição with aflição
A purely visual mix-up. afeição (/ɐ.fɐj.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and aflição (/ɐ.fli.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 a single letter - e in “afeição” becomes l in “aflição”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
afeição is recorded at frequency rank #24,213, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.fɐj.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. aflição is at rank #15,246, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.fli.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 39459, this pair ranks #26,778 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of afeição vs aflição
Shared letters: afioãç. Private to "afeição": e. Private to "aflição": l.
"afeição" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVV · "aflição" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "afeição" for "aflição" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "afeição" or "aflição" show up more?
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 "afeição" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aflição" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,778 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "afeição" and "aflição" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afegão vs afeição". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #26,778 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.