Which to use
“alocar” and “aplicar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,621
- “alocar” frequency rank
- #5,378
- “aplicar” frequency rank
- 42999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alocar | aplicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | destinar algo a um fim específico, utilizar | sobrepor, pôr sobre |
Where the eye mixes alocar and aplicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alocar runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against aplicar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: alocar vs aplicar
A purely visual mix-up. alocar (/ɐ.lu.ˈkaɾ/) and aplicar (/ɐ.pli.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 42999, 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/. aplicar is at rank #5,378, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pli.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 42999, this pair ranks #22,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alocar vs aplicar
Shared letters: aclr. Private to "alocar": o. Private to "aplicar": ip.
"alocar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "aplicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alocar" and "aplicar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "alocar" or "aplicar" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alocar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aplicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alocar" and "aplicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alocar 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 #22,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.