alçarvsatarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#43,259
“alçar” frequency rank
#48,254
“atar” frequency rank
91513
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alçar atar
Definition colocar mais alto, altear, erguer apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alçar and atar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
alçar
4 ch
atar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alçar (/aɫ.ˈsaɾ/) and atar (/ɐ.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 91513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alçar is recorded at frequency rank #43,259, classified as averb, pronounced /aɫ.ˈsaɾ/. atar is at rank #48,254, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.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 91513, this pair ranks #211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alçar vs atar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "alçar": . Private to "atar": t.

"alçar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ataraatr · atarr · attar

Frequency comparison

alçar#43,259
atar#48,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alçar" and "atar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/aɫ.ˈsaɾ/ versus /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alçar" or "atar"?
"alçar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,259 in our Portuguese list, against #48,254 for "atar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alçar vs atar

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 “alçar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list