alteraçãovsatraçãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,594
“alteração” frequency rank
#4,879
“atração” frequency rank
10473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alteração atração
Definition o fato de alterar; modificação efeito ou ação de atrair

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alteração and atração apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
alteração
7 ch
atração

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alteração (/aɫ.tɨ.ɾɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and atração (/ɐ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alteração is recorded at frequency rank #5,594, classified as anoun, pronounced /aɫ.tɨ.ɾɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. atração is at rank #4,879, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 10473, this pair ranks #62,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alteração vs atração

Shared letters: aortãç. Private to "alteração": el. Private to "atração": -.

"alteração" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVV  ·  "atração" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

alteração#5,594
atração#4,879

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alteração" and "atração" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/aɫ.tɨ.ɾɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /ɐ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alteração" or "atração"?
"atração" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,879 in our Portuguese list, against #5,594 for "alteração". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alteração vs atração

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alteração” 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