Which to use
“vaga” is an adjective and “vale” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,456
- “vaga” frequency rank
- #576
- “vale” frequency rank
- 3032
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vaga | vale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | feminino de vago | planície entre duas montanhas ou colinas |
Where the eye mixes vaga and vale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses vaga with vale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vaga is /ˈva.ɡɐ/ while vale is /ˈva.lɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vaga is recorded at frequency rank #2,456, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɡɐ/. vale is at rank #576, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈva.lɨ/.
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 3032, this pair ranks #72,189 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vaga vs vale
Shared letters: av. Private to "vaga": g. Private to "vale": el.
"vaga" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vaga" for "vale" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vaga" or "vale"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vaga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,189 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vaga" and "vale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vale vs velo". 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 #72,189 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.