Which to use
“arco” and “ato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,287
- “arco” frequency rank
- #1,326
- “ato” frequency rank
- 5613
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arco | ato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ente geométrico cuja principal característica é a curva | processo de fazer algo; manifestação real e tangível |
Where the eye mixes arco and ato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between arco and ato
A purely visual mix-up. arco (/ˈaɾ.ku/) 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 5613, 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/. 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 5613, this pair ranks #68,965 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arco vs ato
Shared letters: ao. Private to "arco": cr. Private to "ato": t.
"arco" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ato" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arco ← arcco · aroc · arrco · raco
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arco" for "ato" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "arco" or "ato" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "arco" and "ato" 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 "ato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,965 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arco" and "ato" 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 #68,965 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.