amargovsamigoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,579
“amargo” frequency rank
#384
“amigo” frequency rank
11963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amargo amigo
Definition que amarga, que possui um sabor áspero e por vezes desagradável, como o do café puro, do quinino, do fel etc. que tem ligação com outrem por amizade

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set amargo and amigo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
amargo
5 ch
amigo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. amargo (/ɐ.ˈmaɾ.ɡu/) and amigo (/aˈmi.ɡu/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amargo is recorded at frequency rank #11,579, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.ˈmaɾ.ɡu/. amigo is at rank #384, tagged as anadj, pronounced /aˈmi.ɡu/.

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 11963, this pair ranks #60,759 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of amargo vs amigo

Shared letters: agmo. Private to "amargo": r. Private to "amigo": i.

"amargo" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "amigo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amargoaamrgo · amagro · amarggo · amarog · amarrgo · ammargo · amrago · maargo
  • amigoaimgo · amgio · amiggo · amiog · ammigo · maigo

Frequency comparison

amargo#11,579
amigo#384

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amargo" and "amigo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.ˈmaɾ.ɡu/ versus /aˈmi.ɡu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amargo" or "amigo"?
"amigo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #384 in our Portuguese list, against #11,579 for "amargo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering amargo vs amigo

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 “amargo” 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