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 eye mixes amargo and amigo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. amargo runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against amigo's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses amargo with amigo
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "amargo" and "amigo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "amargo" or "amigo"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "amargo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amigo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,759 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amargo" and "amigo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amargo vs amargos". 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 #60,759 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.