optarvsotaWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: optar is a verb, ota is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“optar” is a verb and “ota” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,922
“optar” frequency rank
#31,082
“ota” frequency rank
43004
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature optar ota
Definition fazer escolha expressa regozijo pela dor ou sofrimento alheio

Where the eye mixes optar and ota

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
optar
3 ch
ota

Why the eye confuses optar with ota

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: optar is /ɔˈp.taɾ/ while ota is /ˈo.tɐ/. 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 (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43004, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

optar is recorded at frequency rank #11,922, classified as averb, pronounced /ɔˈp.taɾ/. ota is at rank #31,082, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ˈo.tɐ/.

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 43004, this pair ranks #22,684 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of optar vs ota

Shared letters: aot. Private to "optar": pr. Private to "ota": -.

"optar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "ota" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • optaropatr · opptar · optarr · optra · opttar · otpar · potar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "optar" and "ota" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "optar" is a verb and "ota" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "optar" vs "ota" - which ranks higher?
"optar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,922 in our Portuguese list, against #31,082 for "ota". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "optar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ota" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,684 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "optar" and "ota" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oni vs ota". 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 #22,684 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list