arrozvsatrozConfusable pair

Quick tell: arroz is a noun, atroz is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“arroz” is a noun and “atroz” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,989
“arroz” frequency rank
#48,778
“atroz” frequency rank
51767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arroz atroz
Definition planta da família das gramíneas com algumas espécies e muitas variedades bastante cultivadas cujo fruto é comestível que não tem piedade, ímpeto; bárbaro; cruel

Where the eye mixes arroz and atroz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. arroz and atroz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
arroz
5 ch
atroz

Why the eye confuses arroz with atroz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arroz is /a.ˈʁo(j)s/ while atroz is /ɐ.ˈtɾɔʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “arroz” becomes t in “atroz”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arroz is recorded at frequency rank #2,989, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈʁo(j)s/. atroz is at rank #48,778, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtɾɔʃ/.

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 51767, this pair ranks #13,329 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of arroz vs atroz

Shared letters: aorz. Private to "arroz": -. Private to "atroz": t.

"arroz" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "atroz" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arrozarorz · aroz · arrozz · arrzo · raroz
  • atrozartoz · atorz · atrozz · atrroz · atrzo · attroz · taroz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "arroz" and "atroz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "arroz" is a noun and "atroz" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "arroz" or "atroz"?
"arroz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,989 in our Portuguese list, against #48,778 for "atroz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "arroz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "atroz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #13,329 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arroz" and "atroz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "antro vs atroz". 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 #13,329 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list