asavsatoConfusable pair

Which to use

“asa” and “ato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,104
“asa” frequency rank
#1,326
“ato” frequency rank
8430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature asa ato
Definition membro de um animal que serve para o voo processo de fazer algo; manifestação real e tangível

Where the eye mixes asa and ato

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
asa
3 ch
ato

Look-alike desk: asa vs ato

A purely visual mix-up. asa (/ˈa.zɐ/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

asa is recorded at frequency rank #7,104, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.zɐ/. 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 8430, this pair ranks #65,334 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of asa vs ato

Shared letters: a. Private to "asa": s. Private to "ato": ot.

"asa" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ato" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "asa" and "ato" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈa.zɐ/ versus /ˈato/ ou /ˈatu/_(plural:) /ˈatos/, /ˈatus/ ou /ˈatuʃ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "asa" or "ato"?
"ato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,326 in our Portuguese list, against #7,104 for "asa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "asa" 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 #65,334 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "asa" and "ato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs asa". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #65,334 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