Which to use
“aflição” and “ambição” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,246
- “aflição” frequency rank
- #9,795
- “ambição” frequency rank
- 25041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aflição | ambição |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | agonia; sofrimento intenso, tristeza pungente | desejo forte de fortuna, de glória, de honrarias, de poder ou de outra coisa qualquer, dependendo do contexto |
Where the eye mixes aflição and ambição
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aflição and ambição follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aflição with ambição
A purely visual mix-up. aflição (/ɐ.fli.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and ambição (/ɐ̃.bi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aflição is recorded at frequency rank #15,246, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.fli.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. ambição is at rank #9,795, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ̃.bi.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 25041, this pair ranks #44,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aflição vs ambição
Shared letters: aioãç. Private to "aflição": fl. Private to "ambição": bm.
"aflição" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "ambição" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aflição" for "ambição" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aflição" or "ambição"?
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 "aflição" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ambição" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aflição" and "ambição" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aflição vs aflito". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #44,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.