Which to use
“arco” and “are” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,287
- “arco” frequency rank
- #4,038
- “are” frequency rank
- 8325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arco | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ente geométrico cuja principal característica é a curva | unidade de medida de área equivalente a 100 metros quadrados |
Where the eye mixes arco and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses arco with are
A purely visual mix-up. arco (/ˈaɾ.ku/) and are (/ˈa.ɾe/) 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 8325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arco is recorded at frequency rank #4,287, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɾ.ku/. are is at rank #4,038, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.ɾe/.
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 8325, this pair ranks #65,489 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arco vs are
Shared letters: ar. Private to "arco": co. Private to "are": e.
"arco" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arco ← arcco · aroc · arrco · raco
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arco" and "are" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "arco" or "are"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "arco" and "are" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "arco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,489 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arco" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs arco". 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 #65,489 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.