Which to use
“atirar” and “ativar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,264
- “atirar” frequency rank
- #10,312
- “ativar” frequency rank
- 16576
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atirar | ativar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lançar um projétil contra um alvo ou pessoa | tornar ativo; fazer com que algo ou alguém funcione ou atue |
Where the eye mixes atirar and ativar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: atirar vs ativar
A purely visual mix-up. atirar (/ɐ.ti.ˈɾaɾ/) and ativar (/a.ti.ˈvaɾ/) 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 a single letter - r in “atirar” becomes v in “ativar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16576, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atirar is recorded at frequency rank #6,264, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ti.ˈɾaɾ/. ativar is at rank #10,312, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.ti.ˈvaɾ/.
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 16576, this pair ranks #54,918 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of atirar vs ativar
Shared letters: airt. Private to "atirar": -. Private to "ativar": v.
"atirar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "ativar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "atirar" and "ativar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "atirar" vs "ativar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "atirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ativar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #54,918 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atirar" and "ativar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atar vs ativar". 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 #54,918 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.