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 eye mixes alçar and atar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. alçar runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against atar's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: alçar vs atar
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": lç. Private to "atar": t.
"alçar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- atar ← aatr · atarr · attar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alçar" and "atar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "alçar" or "atar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alçar" and "atar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afã 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 #211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.