Which to use
“arrasar” is a verb and “arrasto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,220
- “arrasar” frequency rank
- #28,462
- “arrasto” frequency rank
- 41682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrasar | arrasto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar raso, nivelar | ato ou efeito de arrastar; arrastamento |
Where the eye mixes arrasar and arrasto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. arrasar (VCCVCVC) and arrasto (VCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses arrasar with arrasto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arrasar is /ɐ.Rɐ.ˈzaɾ/ while arrasto is /ɐ.ˈRa.stu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrasar is recorded at frequency rank #13,220, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.Rɐ.ˈzaɾ/. arrasto is at rank #28,462, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.ˈRa.stu/.
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 41682, this pair ranks #24,201 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrasar vs arrasto
Shared letters: ars. Private to "arrasar": -. Private to "arrasto": ot.
"arrasar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "arrasto" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arrasar" and "arrasto" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "arrasar" or "arrasto" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arrasar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arrasto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,201 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrasar" and "arrasto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arrasar vs arrotar". 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 #24,201 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.