Which to use
“afeto” is an adjective and “ato” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,612
- “afeto” frequency rank
- #1,326
- “ato” frequency rank
- 10938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | afeto | ato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | à feição, afeiçoado; dedicado; específico para: | processo de fazer algo; manifestação real e tangível |
Where the eye mixes afeto and ato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses afeto with ato
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: afeto is /ɐ.ˈfɛ.tu/ while ato is /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
afeto is recorded at frequency rank #9,612, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.ˈfɛ.tu/. ato is at rank #1,326, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/.
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 10938, this pair ranks #62,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of afeto vs ato
Shared letters: aot. Private to "afeto": ef. Private to "ato": -.
"afeto" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "ato" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- afeto ← aefto · afeot · afetto · affeto · afteo · faeto
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "afeto" and "ato" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "afeto" or "ato"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "afeto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "afeto" and "ato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aceno vs afeto". 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 #62,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.