Which to use
“alas” is a noun and “alçar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #43,259
- “alçar” frequency rank
- 60947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | alçar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | colocar mais alto, altear, erguer |
Where the eye mixes alas and alçar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. alas runs 4 letters (VCVC) against alçar's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: alas vs alçar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alas is /ˈa.lɐs/ while alçar is /aɫ.ˈsaɾ/. 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 60947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alas is recorded at frequency rank #17,688, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.lɐs/. alçar is at rank #43,259, tagged as averb, pronounced /aɫ.ˈsaɾ/.
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 60947, this pair ranks #7,392 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs alçar
Shared letters: al. Private to "alas": s. Private to "alçar": rç.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "alçar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- alas ← aals · alass · allas · alsa · laas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alas" for "alçar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "alas" vs "alçar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "alas" and "alçar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "alas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alçar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,392 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "alçar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alçar vs alce". 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 #7,392 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.