ampliar vs amputar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,834
“ampliar” frequency rank: #42,768
“amputar” frequency rank: 49602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ampliar	amputar
Definition	tornar maior, aumentar	cortar (um membro do corpo)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ampliar and amputar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

ampliar

7 ch

amputar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ampliar (/ɐ̃.pli.ˈaɾ/) and amputar (/ɐ̃.pu.ˈtaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ampliar is recorded at frequency rank #6,834, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ̃.pli.ˈaɾ/. amputar is at rank #42,768, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ̃.pu.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 49602, this pair ranks #15,386 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ampliar vs amputar

Shared letters: ampr. Private to "ampliar": il. Private to "amputar": tu.

"ampliar" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC · "amputar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

ampliar ← amlpiar · ammpliar · ampilar · amplair · ampliarr · amplira · amplliar · amppliar
amputar ← ammputar · ampputar · amptuar · ampuatr · amputarr · amputra · amputtar · amuptar

Frequency comparison

ampliar#6,834

amputar#42,768

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ampliar" and "amputar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐ̃.pli.ˈaɾ/ versus /ɐ̃.pu.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ampliar" or "amputar"?

"ampliar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,834 in our Portuguese list, against #42,768 for "amputar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ampliar vs amputar

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 “ampliar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable