Which to use
“arão” and “asco” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,004
- “arão” frequency rank
- #37,190
- “asco” frequency rank
- 67194
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arão | asco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ave marinha, airo, também chamado arau-comum, Uria aalge | nojo |
Where the eye mixes arão and asco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. arão (VCVV) and asco (VCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: arão vs asco
A purely visual mix-up. arão (Singular: /ɐ.'ɾaŋ/, /ɐ.'ɾa.o/, /ɐ.'ɾaw/) and asco (/ˈaʃ.ku/) 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 67194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arão is recorded at frequency rank #30,004, classified as anoun, pronounced Singular: /ɐ.'ɾaŋ/, /ɐ.'ɾa.o/, /ɐ.'ɾaw/. asco is at rank #37,190, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʃ.ku/.
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 67194, this pair ranks #4,724 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of arão vs asco
Shared letters: ao. Private to "arão": rã. Private to "asco": cs.
"arão" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "asco" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- asco ← ascco · asoc · assco
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arão" for "asco" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "arão" or "asco" show up more?
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 "arão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "asco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,724 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arão" and "asco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs asco". 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 #4,724 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.