Which to use
“alas” and “ânus” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #20,478
- “ânus” frequency rank
- 38166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | ânus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | orifício na extremidade final do intestino grosso, por onde são expelidos os excrementos |
Where the eye mixes alas and ânus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between alas and ânus
A purely visual mix-up. alas (/ˈa.lɐs/) and ânus (/ˈɐ.nuʃ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38166, 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/. ânus is at rank #20,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɐ.nuʃ/.
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 38166, this pair ranks #28,337 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs ânus
Shared letters: s. Private to "alas": al. Private to "ânus": nuâ.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ânus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- alas ← aals · alass · allas · alsa · laas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alas" for "ânus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alas" or "ânus"?
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 "alas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ânus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,337 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "ânus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ânus". 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 #28,337 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.