alevsaterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ale is a noun, ater is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ale” is a noun and “ater” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,419
“ale” frequency rank
#39,000
“ater” frequency rank
56419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ale ater
Definition reflexo da lua na água não permitir que tenha seguimento; impedir que prossiga

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ale and ater apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ale
4 ch
ater

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ale is anoun and ateraverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ale is recorded at frequency rank #17,419, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈle/. ater is at rank #39,000, tagged as averb.

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 56419, this pair ranks #9,979 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ale vs ater

Shared letters: ae. Private to "ale": l. Private to "ater": rt.

"ale" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ater" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ateraetr · aterr · atter

Frequency comparison

ale#17,419
ater#39,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ale" and "ater" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ale" is a noun and "ater" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ale" or "ater"?
"ale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,419 in our Portuguese list, against #39,000 for "ater". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ale vs ater

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ale”; for a verb, it's “ater”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ale” 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