Which to use
“areia” and “ateia” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,988
- “areia” frequency rank
- #45,196
- “ateia” frequency rank
- 48184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | areia | ateia |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que tem cor de areia | forma feminina de ateu: |
Where the eye mixes areia and ateia
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between areia and ateia
A purely visual mix-up. areia (/ɐ.ˈɾɐj.ɐ/) and ateia (/ɐˈtɛj.ɐ/) 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 “areia” becomes t in “ateia”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
areia is recorded at frequency rank #2,988, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.ˈɾɐj.ɐ/. ateia is at rank #45,196, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɐˈtɛj.ɐ/.
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 48184, this pair ranks #17,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of areia vs ateia
Shared letters: aei. Private to "areia": r. Private to "ateia": t.
"areia" · 5 letters · shape VCVVV · "ateia" · 5 letters · shape VCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "areia" for "ateia" ever safe?
Which is more common, "areia" or "ateia"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "areia" and "ateia" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "areia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ateia" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "areia" and "ateia" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apneia vs ateia". 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 #17,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.