Which to use
“alocar” and “aplacar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,621
- “alocar” frequency rank
- #43,760
- “aplacar” frequency rank
- 81381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alocar | aplacar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | destinar algo a um fim específico, utilizar | reduzir a força ou a intensidade de; acalmar, atenuar, minorar |
Where the eye mixes alocar and aplacar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alocar runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against aplacar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses alocar with aplacar
A purely visual mix-up. alocar (/ɐ.lu.ˈkaɾ/) and aplacar (/ɐ.plɐ.ˈkaɾ/) 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 81381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alocar is recorded at frequency rank #37,621, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.lu.ˈkaɾ/. aplacar is at rank #43,760, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.plɐ.ˈkaɾ/.
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 81381, this pair ranks #1,179 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alocar vs aplacar
Shared letters: aclr. Private to "alocar": o. Private to "aplacar": p.
"alocar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "aplacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alocar" for "aplacar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "alocar" vs "aplacar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "alocar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aplacar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,179 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alocar" and "aplacar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alçar vs aplacar". 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 #1,179 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.