Which to use
“atrasado” is an adjective and “atraso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,820
- “atrasado” frequency rank
- #4,206
- “atraso” frequency rank
- 10026
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atrasado | atraso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que acontece após a hora ou data prevista | ato ou efeito de atrasar(-se) |
Where the eye mixes atrasado and atraso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. atrasado runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against atraso's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: atrasado vs atraso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: atrasado is /a.tɾa.ˈza.du/ while atraso is /ɐ.ˈtɾa.zu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atrasado is recorded at frequency rank #5,820, classified as anadj, pronounced /a.tɾa.ˈza.du/. atraso is at rank #4,206, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtɾa.zu/.
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 10026, this pair ranks #63,211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of atrasado vs atraso
Shared letters: aorst. Private to "atrasado": d. Private to "atraso": -.
"atrasado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "atraso" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "atrasado" for "atraso" ever safe?
Which is more common, "atrasado" or "atraso"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "atrasado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atraso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atrasado" and "atraso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atrasado vs atrelado". 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 #63,211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.