Which to use
“atuar” and “aturar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,207
- “atuar” frequency rank
- #21,370
- “aturar” frequency rank
- 25577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | atuar | aturar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | exercer ação | suportar |
Where the eye mixes atuar and aturar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. atuar runs 5 letters (VCVVC) against aturar's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between atuar and aturar
A purely visual mix-up. atuar (/ɐ.ˈtwaɾ/) and aturar (/ɐ.tu.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
atuar is recorded at frequency rank #4,207, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.ˈtwaɾ/. aturar is at rank #21,370, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.tu.ˈɾaɾ/.
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 25577, this pair ranks #43,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of atuar vs aturar
Shared letters: artu. Private to "atuar": -. Private to "aturar": -.
"atuar" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "aturar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "atuar" for "aturar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "atuar" or "aturar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "atuar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aturar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "atuar" and "aturar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atar vs aturar". 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 #43,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.