Which to use
“vala” and “vas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,196
- “vala” frequency rank
- #38,077
- “vas” frequency rank
- 54273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vala | vas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | escavação em um terreno, de forma alongada e mais ou menos profunda, feita para variados fins, mais frequentemente para condução de águas, drenagem, ou instalação de encanamentos, esgotos etc | vaso |
Letter map: vala vs vas
Shared letters muted; letters that set vala and vas apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Pair insight - vala / vas
vala and vas are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vala is recorded at frequency rank #16,196, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈva.lɐ/. vas is at rank #38,077, tagged as anoun.
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 54273, this pair ranks #11,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vala vs vas
Shared letters: av. Private to "vala": l. Private to "vas": s.
"vala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vas" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vala ← avla · vaal · valla · vlaa · vvala
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vala" for "vas" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "vala" or "vas" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "vala" and "vas". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "vala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vala" and "vas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vas vs vet". 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 #11,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.