alistarvsaltarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#29,214
“alistar” frequency rank
#8,141
“altar” frequency rank
37355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alistar altar
Definition pôr em lista estrutura elevada perante a qual cerimônias religiosas são realizadas ou na qual sacrifícios podem ser oferecidos aos deuses, ancestrais, etc

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alistar and altar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
alistar
5 ch
altar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: alistar is averb and altaranoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alistar is recorded at frequency rank #29,214, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.liʃ.ˈtaɾ/. altar is at rank #8,141, tagged as anoun.

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 37355, this pair ranks #29,274 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alistar vs altar

Shared letters: alrt. Private to "alistar": is. Private to "altar": -.

"alistar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alistarailstar · alisatr · alisstar · alistarr · alistra · alisttar · alitsar · allistar
  • altaralatr · alltar · altarr · altra · alttar · atlar · latar

Frequency comparison

alistar#29,214
altar#8,141

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alistar" and "altar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alistar" is a verb and "altar" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alistar" or "altar"?
"altar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,141 in our Portuguese list, against #29,214 for "alistar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alistar vs altar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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