ampolavsargolaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,880
“ampola” frequency rank
#36,327
“argola” frequency rank
77207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ampola argola
Definition pequeno tubo de vidro, plástico ou metal, geralmente terminado em ponta, e hermeticamente fechado após a introdução de um fluido anel (de metal, madeira, plástico, etc.) para prender, puxar ou suspender algo

Where the eye mixes ampola and argola

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
ampola
6 ch
argola

Why the eye confuses ampola with argola

A purely visual mix-up. ampola (/ɐ̃.ˈpo.lɐ/) and argola (/aʁˈɡɔ.lɐ/ [aɦˈɡɔ.lɐ]) 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 77207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ampola is recorded at frequency rank #40,880, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ̃.ˈpo.lɐ/. argola is at rank #36,327, tagged as anoun, pronounced /aʁˈɡɔ.lɐ/ [aɦˈɡɔ.lɐ].

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 77207, this pair ranks #1,936 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ampola vs argola

Shared letters: alo. Private to "ampola": mp. Private to "argola": gr.

"ampola" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "argola" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ampolaammpola · amopla · amploa · ampoal · ampolla · amppola · apmola · mapola
  • argolaagrola · arggola · argloa · argoal · argolla · arogla · arrgola · ragola

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ampola" for "argola" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ̃.ˈpo.lɐ/ versus /aʁˈɡɔ.lɐ/ [aɦˈɡɔ.lɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ampola" or "argola"?
"argola" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,327 in our Portuguese list, against #40,880 for "ampola". 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 "ampola" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "argola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,936 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ampola" and "argola" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "argola vs arroba". 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 #1,936 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