ativovsátrioConfusable pair

Quick tell: ativo is a adjective, átrio is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ativo” is an adjective and “átrio” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,881
“ativo” frequency rank
#26,601
“átrio” frequency rank
30482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ativo átrio
Definition diligente, expedito vestíbulo que vai da entrada principal à escadaria

Where the eye mixes ativo and átrio

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ativo (VCVCV) and átrio (VCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
ativo
5 ch
átrio

Look-alike desk: ativo vs átrio

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ativo is /a.ˈʧi.vu/ while átrio is /ˈa.tɾju/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ativo is recorded at frequency rank #3,881, classified as anadj, pronounced /a.ˈʧi.vu/. átrio is at rank #26,601, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.tɾju/.

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 30482, this pair ranks #37,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ativo vs átrio

Shared letters: iot. Private to "ativo": av. Private to "átrio": rá.

"ativo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "átrio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ativo ← aitvo · atiov · ativvo · attivo · atvio · taivo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ativo" for "átrio" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ativo" is an adjective and "átrio" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ativo" or "átrio" show up more?
"ativo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,881 in our Portuguese list, against #26,601 for "átrio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "ativo" and "átrio" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ativo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "átrio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ativo" and "átrio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "átrio vs atroz". 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 #37,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list