altavsalvoConfusable pair

Which to use

“alta” and “alvo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#818
“alta” frequency rank
#1,380
“alvo” frequency rank
2198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alta alvo
Definition alto, elevado de cor branca

Where the eye mixes alta and alvo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
alta
4 ch
alvo

Look-alike desk: alta vs alvo

A purely visual mix-up. alta (/ˈal.ta/.) and alvo (/ˈaɫ.vu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2198, 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/.. alvo is at rank #1,380, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈaɫ.vu/.

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 2198, this pair ranks #73,270 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alta vs alvo

Shared letters: al. Private to "alta": t. Private to "alvo": ov.

"alta" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "alvo" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • altaalat · allta · altta · atla
  • alvoallvo · alov · alvvo · avlo · lavo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alta" for "alvo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈal.ta/. versus /ˈaɫ.vu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "alta" vs "alvo" - which ranks higher?
"alta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #818 in our Portuguese list, against #1,380 for "alvo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "alvo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #73,270 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alta" and "alvo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alce vs alvo". 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 #73,270 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list