Which to use
“ala” is a noun and “arar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,137
- “ala” frequency rank
- #46,176
- “arar” frequency rank
- 52313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ala | arar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | conjunto de objetos dispostos de maneira a formar uma linha | lavrar (a terra) com arado |
Where the eye mixes ala and arar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ala runs 3 letters (VCV) against arar's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ala with arar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ala is /ˈa.lɐ/ while arar is /ɐ.ˈɾaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ala is recorded at frequency rank #6,137, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.lɐ/. arar is at rank #46,176, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈɾaɾ/.
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 52313, this pair ranks #12,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ala vs arar
Shared letters: a. Private to "ala": l. Private to "arar": r.
"ala" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "arar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- arar ← aarr · ararr · arra · arrar · raar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ala" for "arar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ala" or "arar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ala" and "arar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arar vs atar". 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 #12,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.