Which to use
“alterar” and “aterrar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,593
- “alterar” frequency rank
- #32,863
- “aterrar” frequency rank
- 38456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alterar | aterrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar diferente em algum aspecto como tamanho, peso, estilo, etc | retornar à terra; pousar (o avião); aterrissar |
Where the eye mixes alterar and aterrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. alterar (VCCVCVC) and aterrar (VCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between alterar and aterrar
A purely visual mix-up. alterar (/aɫ.tɨ.ˈɾaɾ/) and aterrar (/a.teˈʁa(ʁ)/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38456, 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/. aterrar is at rank #32,863, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.teˈʁa(ʁ)/.
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 38456, this pair ranks #28,000 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alterar vs aterrar
Shared letters: aert. Private to "alterar": l. Private to "aterrar": -.
"alterar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "aterrar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alterar" and "aterrar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "alterar" or "aterrar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "alterar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aterrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,000 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alterar" and "aterrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aterrar vs atestar". 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 #28,000 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.