Which to use
“alimentar” is an adjective and “alimento” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,660
- “alimentar” frequency rank
- #5,704
- “alimento” frequency rank
- 8364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alimentar | alimento |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relativo aos alimentos | substância destinada ao consumo de seres vivos heterótrofos, com o fito de prover energia e material para o crescimento |
Where the eye mixes alimentar and alimento
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. alimentar runs 9 letters (VCVCVCCVC) against alimento's 8 (VCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses alimentar with alimento
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alimentar is /a.ˌli.mẽ.taχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?) while alimento is /a.li.ˈmẽ.tu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alimentar is recorded at frequency rank #2,660, classified as anadj, pronounced /a.ˌli.mẽ.taχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?). alimento is at rank #5,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced /a.li.ˈmẽ.tu/.
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 8364, this pair ranks #65,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of alimentar vs alimento
Shared letters: aeilmnt. Private to "alimentar": r. Private to "alimento": o.
"alimentar" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC · "alimento" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alimentar" and "alimento" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "alimentar" vs "alimento" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "alimentar" and "alimento" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "alimentar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alimento" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alimentar" and "alimento" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alienar vs alimentar". 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 #65,438 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.