atavsateuWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#8,716
“ata” frequency rank
#14,779
“ateu” frequency rank
23495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ata ateu
Definition registro escrito do que se passou em uma reunião que não crê na existência de nenhum deus

Where the eye mixes ata and ateu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
ata
4 ch
ateu

Why the eye confuses ata with ateu

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ata is /ˈa.tɐ/ while ateu is /a.ˈteu̯/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ata is recorded at frequency rank #8,716, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.tɐ/. ateu is at rank #14,779, tagged as anadj, pronounced /a.ˈteu̯/.

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 23495, this pair ranks #46,326 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ata vs ateu

Shared letters: at. Private to "ata": -. Private to "ateu": eu.

"ata" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ateu" · 4 letters · shape VCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ateuaetu · atteu · atue · taeu

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ata" and "ateu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ata" is a noun and "ateu" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ata" vs "ateu" - which ranks higher?
"ata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,716 in our Portuguese list, against #14,779 for "ateu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ateu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #46,326 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ata" and "ateu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atar vs ateu". 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 #46,326 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