apegarvsapelarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,459
“apegar” frequency rank
#16,444
“apelar” frequency rank
48903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apegar apelar
Definition fazer sentir ou sentir apego; afeiçoar-se chamar em socorro

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
apegar
6 ch
apelar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. apegar (/ɐ.pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and apelar (/ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - g in “apegar” becomes l in “apelar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apegar is recorded at frequency rank #32,459, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. apelar is at rank #16,444, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/.

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 48903, this pair ranks #16,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apegar vs apelar

Shared letters: aepr. Private to "apegar": g. Private to "apelar": l.

"apegar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "apelar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apegaraepgar · apeagr · apegarr · apeggar · apegra · apgear · appegar · paegar
  • apelaraeplar · apealr · apelarr · apellar · apelra · aplear · appelar · paelar

Frequency comparison

apegar#32,459
apelar#16,444

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apegar" and "apelar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /ɐ.pɨ.ˈlaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apegar" or "apelar"?
"apelar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,444 in our Portuguese list, against #32,459 for "apegar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apegar vs apelar

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list