Which to use
“ao” is a contraction and “ar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27
- “ao” frequency rank
- #613
- “ar” frequency rank
- 640
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ao | ar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contração da preposição a com o artigo definido o | fluido gasoso que envolve todo o planeta Terra; atmosfera |
Letter map: ao vs ar
Shared letters muted; letters that set ao and ar apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - ao and ar
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ao is acontraction and aranoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - o in “ao” becomes r in “ar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ao is recorded at frequency rank #27, classified as acontraction, pronounced /aw/. ar is at rank #613, tagged as anoun.
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 640, this pair ranks #75,029 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ao vs ar
Shared letters: a. Private to "ao": o. Private to "ar": r.
"ao" · 2 letters · shape VV · "ar" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ao" for "ar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ao" or "ar"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "ao" and "ar".
- Full dictionary entry for "ao" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,029 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ao" and "ar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ar". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,029 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.