Which to use
“andar” is a noun and “andava” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,159
- “andar” frequency rank
- #8,145
- “andava” frequency rank
- 9304
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | andar | andava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | piso de um edifício sobre o qual pode-se andar | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo andar |
Where the eye mixes andar and andava
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. andar runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against andava's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses andar with andava
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: andar is /ɐ̃.ˈdaɾ/ while andava is /ɐ̃ⁿ.ˈda.vɐ/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9304, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
andar is recorded at frequency rank #1,159, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ̃.ˈdaɾ/. andava is at rank #8,145, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ̃ⁿ.ˈda.vɐ/.
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 9304, this pair ranks #64,167 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of andar vs andava
Shared letters: adn. Private to "andar": r. Private to "andava": v.
"andar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "andava" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "andar" for "andava" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "andar" or "andava" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "andar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "andava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,167 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "andar" and "andava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "andar vs audaz". 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 #64,167 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.