Which to use
“aplacar” and “atracar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,760
- “aplacar” frequency rank
- #36,757
- “atracar” frequency rank
- 80517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aplacar | atracar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | reduzir a força ou a intensidade de; acalmar, atenuar, minorar | amarrar |
Where the eye mixes aplacar and atracar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aplacar and atracar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aplacar with atracar
A purely visual mix-up. aplacar (/ɐ.plɐ.ˈkaɾ/) and atracar (/ɐ.tɾɐ.ˈkaɾ/) 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 80517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aplacar is recorded at frequency rank #43,760, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.plɐ.ˈkaɾ/. atracar is at rank #36,757, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.tɾɐ.ˈkaɾ/.
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 80517, this pair ranks #1,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aplacar vs atracar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "aplacar": lp. Private to "atracar": t.
"aplacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "atracar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aplacar" for "atracar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aplacar" or "atracar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aplacar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atracar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aplacar" and "atracar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alçar vs aplacar". 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 #1,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.