soltavssoltarWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: solta is a noun, soltar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“solta” is a noun and “soltar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,270
“solta” frequency rank
#5,356
“soltar” frequency rank
9626
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature solta soltar
Definition ato ou efeito de soltar libertar

Where the eye mixes solta and soltar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. solta runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against soltar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
solta
6 ch
soltar

Look-alike desk: solta vs soltar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: solta is /ˈsoɫ.tɐ/ while soltar is /soɫ.ˈtaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “solta” sits inside “soltar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

solta is recorded at frequency rank #4,270, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsoɫ.tɐ/. soltar is at rank #5,356, tagged as averb, pronounced /soɫ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 9626, this pair ranks #63,745 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of solta vs soltar

Shared letters: alost. Private to "solta": -. Private to "soltar": r.

"solta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "soltar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • solta ← oslta · slota · solat · sollta · soltta · sotla · ssolta
  • soltar ← osltar · slotar · solatr · solltar · soltarr · soltra · solttar · sotlar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "solta" and "soltar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "solta" is a noun and "soltar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "solta" or "soltar"?
"solta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,270 in our Portuguese list, against #5,356 for "soltar". 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 "solta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "soltar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,745 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "solta" and "soltar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soldo vs solta". 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 #63,745 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