Which to use
“atacar” and “atar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,818
- “atacar” frequency rank
- #48,254
- “atar” frequency rank
- 51072
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atacar | atar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fazer o ataque a; acometer | apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: |
Where the eye mixes atacar and atar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between atacar and atar
A purely visual mix-up. atacar (/ɐ.tɐ.ˈkaɾ/) and atar (/ɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atacar is recorded at frequency rank #2,818, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.tɐ.ˈkaɾ/. atar is at rank #48,254, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 51072, this pair ranks #13,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of atacar vs atar
Shared letters: art. Private to "atacar": c. Private to "atar": -.
"atacar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "atacar" and "atar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "atacar" or "atar"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "atacar" and "atar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "atacar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atacar" and "atar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afã vs atar". 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 #13,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.