Which to use
“arão” and “ato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,004
- “arão” frequency rank
- #1,326
- “ato” frequency rank
- 31330
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arão | ato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ave marinha, airo, também chamado arau-comum, Uria aalge | processo de fazer algo; manifestação real e tangível |
Where the eye mixes arão and ato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. arão runs 4 letters (VCVV) against ato's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses arão with ato
A purely visual mix-up. arão (Singular: /ɐ.'ɾaŋ/, /ɐ.'ɾa.o/, /ɐ.'ɾaw/) and ato (/ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31330, 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/. ato is at rank #1,326, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/.
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 31330, this pair ranks #36,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arão vs ato
Shared letters: ao. Private to "arão": rã. Private to "ato": t.
"arão" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "ato" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arão" for "ato" ever safe?
Frequency check: "arão" vs "ato" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "arão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arão" and "ato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arão vs atar". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #36,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.