Which to use
“atirar” is a verb and “atrás” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,264
- “atirar” frequency rank
- #441
- “atrás” frequency rank
- 6705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atirar | atrás |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lançar um projétil contra um alvo ou pessoa | detrás, por trás |
Where the eye mixes atirar and atrás
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses atirar with atrás
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atirar is /ɐ.ti.ˈɾaɾ/ while atrás is /ɐ.ˈtɾaʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6705, 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/. atrás is at rank #441, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtɾaʃ/.
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 6705, this pair ranks #67,663 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of atirar vs atrás
Shared letters: art. Private to "atirar": i. Private to "atrás": sá.
"atirar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "atrás" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- atirar ← aitrar · atiarr · atirarr · atirra · atirrar · attirar · tairar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "atirar" for "atrás" ever safe?
Which is more common, "atirar" or "atrás"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "atirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atrás" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,663 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atirar" and "atrás" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atar vs atirar". 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 #67,663 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.