Which to use
“estatal” and “estável” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,815
- “estatal” frequency rank
- #4,640
- “estável” frequency rank
- 9455
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | estatal | estável |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | do estado, relativo ao estado | que está bem assente |
Where the eye mixes estatal and estável
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. estatal and estável follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: estatal vs estável
A purely visual mix-up. estatal (/iʃ.tɐ.ˈtaɫ/) and estável (/iʃ.ˈta.vɛɫ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
estatal is recorded at frequency rank #4,815, classified as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.tɐ.ˈtaɫ/. estável is at rank #4,640, tagged as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.ˈta.vɛɫ/.
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 9455, this pair ranks #63,972 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of estatal vs estável
Shared letters: elst. Private to "estatal": a. Private to "estável": vá.
"estatal" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "estável" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- estatal ← esattal · esstatal · estaatl · estatall · estatla · estattal · esttaal · esttatal
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "estatal" and "estável" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "estatal" or "estável"?
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 "estatal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estável" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,972 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "estatal" and "estável" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estatal vs estate". 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 #63,972 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.