Which to use
“arar” and “atar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,176
- “arar” frequency rank
- #48,254
- “atar” frequency rank
- 94430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arar | atar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lavrar (a terra) com arado | apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: |
Where the eye mixes arar and atar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. arar and atar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses arar with atar
A purely visual mix-up. arar (/ɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) and atar (/ɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 - r in “arar” becomes t in “atar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arar is recorded at frequency rank #46,176, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈɾaɾ/. atar is at rank #48,254, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 94430, this pair ranks #97 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of arar vs atar
Shared letters: ar. Private to "arar": -. Private to "atar": t.
"arar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arar" for "atar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "arar" or "atar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arar" and "atar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afã vs atar". 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 #97 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.