Which to use
“afogar” and “alocar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,247
- “afogar” frequency rank
- #37,621
- “alocar” frequency rank
- 52868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | afogar | alocar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | matar alguém por afogamento, asfixia ou estrangulamento | destinar algo a um fim específico, utilizar |
Where the eye mixes afogar and alocar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses afogar with alocar
A purely visual mix-up. afogar (/ɐ.fu.ˈɡaɾ/) and alocar (/ɐ.lu.ˈkaɾ/) 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 52868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
afogar is recorded at frequency rank #15,247, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.fu.ˈɡaɾ/. alocar is at rank #37,621, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.lu.ˈkaɾ/.
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 52868, this pair ranks #12,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of afogar vs alocar
Shared letters: aor. Private to "afogar": fg. Private to "alocar": cl.
"afogar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "alocar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "afogar" and "alocar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "afogar" or "alocar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "afogar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "afogar" and "alocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alocar vs aplacar". 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 #12,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.