atarvsazarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: atar is a verb, azar is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“atar” is a verb and “azar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,254
“atar” frequency rank
#6,840
“azar” frequency rank
55094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atar azar
Definition apertar atilho com nó; amarrar; ligar; manietar: má sorte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set atar and azar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
atar
4 ch
azar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atar is /ɐ.ˈtaɾ/ while azar is /ɐ.zaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - t in “atar” becomes z in “azar”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55094, 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/. azar is at rank #6,840, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.zaɾ/.

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 55094, this pair ranks #10,804 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of atar vs azar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "atar": t. Private to "azar": z.

"atar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "azar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ataraatr · atarr · attar
  • azaraazr · azarr · azra · azzar · zaar

Frequency comparison

atar#48,254
azar#6,840

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atar" and "azar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "atar" is a verb and "azar" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "atar" or "azar"?
"azar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,840 in our Portuguese list, against #48,254 for "atar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering atar vs azar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “atar”; for a noun, it's “azar”.
  • 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