Which to use
“ama” and “asa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,454
- “ama” frequency rank
- #7,104
- “asa” frequency rank
- 8558
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ama | asa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher que amamenta filho alheio | membro de um animal que serve para o voo |
Where the eye mixes ama and asa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ama with asa
A purely visual mix-up. ama (/ˈɐ.mɐ/) and asa (/ˈa.zɐ/) 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 a single letter - m in “ama” becomes s in “asa”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ama is recorded at frequency rank #1,454, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɐ.mɐ/. asa is at rank #7,104, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.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 8558, this pair ranks #65,173 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ama vs asa
Shared letters: a. Private to "ama": m. Private to "asa": s.
"ama" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "asa" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ama" and "asa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ama" vs "asa" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "asa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,173 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ama" and "asa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs asa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #65,173 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.