Which to use
“modal” and “móvel” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,373
- “modal” frequency rank
- #4,325
- “móvel” frequency rank
- 38698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modal | móvel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relativo ao modo ou modalidade | que se move |
Where the eye mixes modal and móvel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: modal vs móvel
A purely visual mix-up. modal (/mu.ˈdaɫ/) and móvel (/ˈmɔ.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 38698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modal is recorded at frequency rank #34,373, classified as anadj, pronounced /mu.ˈdaɫ/. móvel is at rank #4,325, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmɔ.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 38698, this pair ranks #27,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of modal vs móvel
Shared letters: lm. Private to "modal": ado. Private to "móvel": evó.
"modal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "móvel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- modal ← mdoal · mmodal · moadl · modall · moddal · modla · omdal
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "modal" for "móvel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "modal" vs "móvel" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "modal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "móvel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modal" and "móvel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moca vs modal". 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 #27,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.