alterar vs alteza, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“alterar” is a verb and “alteza” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,593
“alterar” frequency rank: #15,009
“alteza” frequency rank: 20602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	alterar	alteza
Definition	tornar diferente em algum aspecto como tamanho, peso, estilo, etc	qualidade do que é alto

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alterar and alteza apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

alterar

6 ch

alteza

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alterar is /aɫ.tɨ.ˈɾaɾ/ while alteza is /aɫ.ˈte.zɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alterar is recorded at frequency rank #5,593, classified as averb, pronounced /aɫ.tɨ.ˈɾaɾ/. alteza is at rank #15,009, tagged as anoun, pronounced /aɫ.ˈte.zɐ/.

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 20602, this pair ranks #49,868 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alterar vs alteza

Shared letters: aelt. Private to "alterar": r. Private to "alteza": z.

"alterar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "alteza" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

alterar ← aletrar · allterar · altearr · alterarr · alterra · alterrar · altrear · altterar
alteza ← aletza · allteza · alteaz · altezza · altteza · altzea · atleza · lateza

Frequency comparison

alterar#5,593

alteza#15,009

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alterar" and "alteza" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alterar" is a verb and "alteza" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "alterar" or "alteza"?

"alterar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,593 in our Portuguese list, against #15,009 for "alteza". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alterar vs alteza

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “alterar”; for a noun, it's “alteza”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alterar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable