Which to use
“andar” is a noun and “atar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,159
- “andar” frequency rank
- #48,254
- “atar” frequency rank
- 49413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | andar | atar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | piso de um edifício sobre o qual pode-se andar | apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: |
Where the eye mixes andar and atar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: andar vs atar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: andar is /ɐ̃.ˈdaɾ/ while atar is /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/. 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 49413, 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/. atar is at rank #48,254, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.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 49413, this pair ranks #15,588 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of andar vs atar
Shared letters: ar. Private to "andar": dn. Private to "atar": t.
"andar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "andar" for "atar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "andar" or "atar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "andar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,588 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "andar" and "atar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afã vs atar". 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 #15,588 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.