naquelavsnaquiloWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“naquela” and “naquilo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,937
“naquela” frequency rank
#7,667
“naquilo” frequency rank
9604
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature naquela naquilo
Definition contração da preposição em com o pronome demonstrativo aquela contração da preposição em mais o pronome aquilo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set naquela and naquilo apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
naquela
7 ch
naquilo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. naquela (/naˈkɛ.la/) and naquilo (/nɐ.ˈki.lu/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

naquela is recorded at frequency rank #1,937, classified as acontraction, pronounced /naˈkɛ.la/. naquilo is at rank #7,667, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /nɐ.ˈki.lu/.

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 9604, this pair ranks #63,769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of naquela vs naquilo

Shared letters: alnqu. Private to "naquela": e. Private to "naquilo": io.

"naquela" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "naquilo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • naquelaanquela · naqeula · naqquela · naqueal · naquella · naqulea · nauqela · nnaquela
  • naquiloanquilo · naqiulo · naqquilo · naquillo · naquiol · naqulio · nauqilo · nnaquilo

Frequency comparison

naquela#1,937
naquilo#7,667

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "naquela" and "naquilo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/naˈkɛ.la/ versus /nɐ.ˈki.lu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "naquela" or "naquilo"?
"naquela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,937 in our Portuguese list, against #7,667 for "naquilo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering naquela vs naquilo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “naquela” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list