ameixavsateiaConfusable pair

Quick tell: ameixa is a noun, ateia is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ameixa” is a noun and “ateia” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,442
“ameixa” frequency rank
#45,196
“ateia” frequency rank
73638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ameixa ateia
Definition fruta extraída da ameixeira forma feminina de ateu:

Where the eye mixes ameixa and ateia

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ameixa runs 6 letters (VCVVCV) against ateia's 5 (VCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
ameixa
5 ch
ateia

Why the eye confuses ameixa with ateia

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ameixa is /a.ˈmej.ʃɐ/ while ateia is /ɐˈtɛj.ɐ/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ameixa is recorded at frequency rank #28,442, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈmej.ʃɐ/. ateia is at rank #45,196, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɐˈtɛj.ɐ/.

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 73638, this pair ranks #2,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ameixa vs ateia

Shared letters: aei. Private to "ameixa": mx. Private to "ateia": t.

"ameixa" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV  ·  "ateia" · 5 letters · shape VCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ameixaaemixa · ameiax · ameixxa · amexia · amiexa · ammeixa · maeixa
  • ateiaaetia · ateai · atiea · atteia · taeia

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ameixa" and "ateia" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ameixa" is a noun and "ateia" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ameixa" or "ateia"?
"ameixa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,442 in our Portuguese list, against #45,196 for "ateia". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ameixa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ateia" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ameixa" and "ateia" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apneia vs ateia". 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 #2,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list