Which to use
“agarrar” and “aterrar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,379
- “agarrar” frequency rank
- #32,863
- “aterrar” frequency rank
- 44242
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agarrar | aterrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | prender; segurar com garra | retornar à terra; pousar (o avião); aterrissar |
Where the eye mixes agarrar and aterrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. agarrar and aterrar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses agarrar with aterrar
A purely visual mix-up. agarrar (/ɐ.ɡɐ.ˈRaɾ/) and aterrar (/a.teˈʁa(ʁ)/) 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 44242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
agarrar is recorded at frequency rank #11,379, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ɡɐ.ˈRaɾ/. aterrar is at rank #32,863, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.teˈʁa(ʁ)/.
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 44242, this pair ranks #21,267 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of agarrar vs aterrar
Shared letters: ar. Private to "agarrar": g. Private to "aterrar": et.
"agarrar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "aterrar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "agarrar" for "aterrar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "agarrar" or "aterrar" show up more?
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 "agarrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aterrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,267 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "agarrar" and "aterrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aterrar vs atestar". 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 #21,267 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.