Which to use
“ama” is a noun and “atar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,454
- “ama” frequency rank
- #48,254
- “atar” frequency rank
- 49708
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ama | atar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher que amamenta filho alheio | apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: |
Where the eye mixes ama and atar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ama runs 3 letters (VCV) against atar's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ama with atar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ama is /ˈɐ.mɐ/ while atar is /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49708, 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/. atar is at rank #48,254, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 49708, this pair ranks #15,280 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ama vs atar
Shared letters: a. Private to "ama": m. Private to "atar": rt.
"ama" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- atar ← aatr · atarr · attar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ama" for "atar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ama" or "atar"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ama" and "atar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,280 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ama" and "atar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afã vs atar". 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 #15,280 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.