Which to use
“alta” is an adjective and “altura” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #818
- “alta” frequency rank
- #905
- “altura” frequency rank
- 1723
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alta | altura |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | alto, elevado | comprimento de um objeto medido da base até o topo |
Where the eye mixes alta and altura
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. alta runs 4 letters (VCCV) against altura's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between alta and altura
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alta is /ˈal.ta/. while altura is /aɫ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 1723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alta is recorded at frequency rank #818, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈal.ta/.. altura is at rank #905, tagged as anoun, pronounced /aɫ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/.
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 1723, this pair ranks #73,788 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of alta vs altura
Shared letters: alt. Private to "alta": -. Private to "altura": ru.
"alta" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "altura" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alta" and "altura" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "alta" or "altura"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "altura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,788 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alta" and "altura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alce vs alta". 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 #73,788 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.