aivsakWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ai is a intj, ak is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ai” is an intj and “ak” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,090
“ai” frequency rank
#15,974
“ak” frequency rank
17064
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ai ak
Definition expressa dor física ou sentimental irmão (que não é o primogênito)

Where the eye mixes ai and ak

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
ai
2 ch
ak

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ai is /aj/ while ak is /ák̚/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “ai” becomes k in “ak”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ai is recorded at frequency rank #1,090, classified as anintj, pronounced /aj/. ak is at rank #15,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ák̚/.

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 17064, this pair ranks #54,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ai vs ak

Shared letters: a. Private to "ai": i. Private to "ak": k.

"ai" · 2 letters · shape VV  ·  "ak" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ai" and "ak" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ai" is an intj and "ak" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ai" or "ak"?
"ai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,090 in our Portuguese list, against #15,974 for "ak". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list