atacar vs aturar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,818
“atacar” frequency rank: #21,370
“aturar” frequency rank: 24188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	atacar	aturar
Definition	fazer o ataque a; acometer	suportar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set atacar and aturar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

atacar

6 ch

aturar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. atacar (/ɐ.tɐ.ˈkaɾ/) and aturar (/ɐ.tu.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 24188, 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/. aturar is at rank #21,370, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.tu.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 24188, this pair ranks #45,490 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of atacar vs aturar

Shared letters: art. Private to "atacar": c. Private to "aturar": u.

"atacar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "aturar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

atacar ← aatcar · ataacr · atacarr · ataccar · atacra · atcaar · attacar · taacar
aturar ← atruar · atturar · aturarr · aturra · aturrar · autrar · taurar

Frequency comparison

atacar#2,818

aturar#21,370

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atacar" and "aturar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐ.tɐ.ˈkaɾ/ versus /ɐ.tu.ˈɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "atacar" or "aturar"?

"atacar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,818 in our Portuguese list, against #21,370 for "aturar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering atacar vs aturar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “atacar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable