alegar vs apelar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#19,616
“alegar” frequency rank: #16,444
“apelar” frequency rank: 36060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	alegar	apelar
Definition	citar	chamar em socorro

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alegar and apelar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

alegar

6 ch

apelar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alegar (/ɐ.lɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and apelar (/ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alegar is recorded at frequency rank #19,616, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.lɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. apelar is at rank #16,444, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/.

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 36060, this pair ranks #30,836 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alegar vs apelar

Shared letters: aelr. Private to "alegar": g. Private to "apelar": p.

"alegar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "apelar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

alegar ← aelgar · aleagr · alegarr · aleggar · alegra · algear · allegar · laegar
apelar ← aeplar · apealr · apelarr · apellar · apelra · aplear · appelar · paelar

Frequency comparison

alegar#19,616

apelar#16,444

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alegar" and "apelar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐ.lɨ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "alegar" or "apelar"?

"apelar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,444 in our Portuguese list, against #19,616 for "alegar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alegar vs apelar

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