ajudar vs ajustar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ajudar” and “ajustar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#383
“ajudar” frequency rank: #12,602
“ajustar” frequency rank: 12985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ajudar	ajustar
Definition	prestar ajuda; auxiliar; facilitar	fazer pequeno conserto ou ajuste numa peça de vestuário

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ajudar and ajustar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

ajudar

7 ch

ajustar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ajudar (/a.ˈʒu.dɐ/) and ajustar (/ɐ.ʒuʃ.ˈtaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ajudar is recorded at frequency rank #383, classified as averb, pronounced /a.ˈʒu.dɐ/. ajustar is at rank #12,602, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ʒuʃ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 12985, this pair ranks #59,457 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ajudar vs ajustar

Shared letters: ajru. Private to "ajudar": d. Private to "ajustar": st.

"ajudar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "ajustar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

ajudar ← ajduar · ajjudar · ajuadr · ajudarr · ajuddar · ajudra · aujdar · jaudar
ajustar ← ajjustar · ajsutar · ajusatr · ajusstar · ajustarr · ajustra · ajusttar · ajutsar

Frequency comparison

ajudar#383

ajustar#12,602

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ajudar" and "ajustar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/a.ˈʒu.dɐ/ versus /ɐ.ʒuʃ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ajudar" or "ajustar"?

"ajudar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #383 in our Portuguese list, against #12,602 for "ajustar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ajudar vs ajustar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ajudar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable