atarvsatrairWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,254
“atar” frequency rank
#4,205
“atrair” frequency rank
52459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atar atrair
Definition apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: puxar para usando de charme, persuasão, etc

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
atar
6 ch
atrair

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. atar (/ɐ.ˈtaɾ/) and atrair (/ɐ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/) 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 52459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

atar is recorded at frequency rank #48,254, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/. atrair is at rank #4,205, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/.

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 52459, this pair ranks #12,743 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of atar vs atrair

Shared letters: art. Private to "atar": -. Private to "atrair": i.

"atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "atrair" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ataraatr · atarr · attar
  • atrairartair · atarir · atrairr · atrari · atriar · atrrair · attrair · tarair

Frequency comparison

atar#48,254
atrair#4,205

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atar" and "atrair" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /ɐ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "atar" or "atrair"?
"atrair" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,205 in our Portuguese list, against #48,254 for "atar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering atar vs atrair

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 “atar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list