Which to use
“alas” and “aspas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #19,062
- “aspas” frequency rank
- 36750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | aspas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | o mesmo que asa (caixilhos) |
Where the eye mixes alas and aspas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. alas runs 4 letters (VCVC) against aspas's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between alas and aspas
A purely visual mix-up. alas (/ˈa.lɐs/) and aspas (/ˈaʃ.pɐʃ/) 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 36750, 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/. aspas is at rank #19,062, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʃ.pɐʃ/.
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 36750, this pair ranks #29,990 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs aspas
Shared letters: as. Private to "alas": l. Private to "aspas": p.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "aspas" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alas" and "aspas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "alas" or "aspas"?
Useful next steps
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 "aspas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,990 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "aspas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs alas". 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 #29,990 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.