valavsvasoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,196
“vala” frequency rank
#8,835
“vaso” frequency rank
25031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vala vaso
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 recipiente para líquidos, sólidos, flores etc

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vala and vaso apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
vala
4 ch
vaso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vala (/ˈva.lɐ/) and vaso (/ˈva.zu/) 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 25031, 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/. vaso is at rank #8,835, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈva.zu/.

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 25031, this pair ranks #44,386 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vala vs vaso

Shared letters: av. Private to "vala": l. Private to "vaso": os.

"vala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "vaso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valaavla · vaal · valla · vlaa · vvala
  • vasoavso · vaos · vasso · vsao · vvaso

Frequency comparison

vala#16,196
vaso#8,835

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vala" and "vaso" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈva.lɐ/ versus /ˈva.zu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vala" or "vaso"?
"vaso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,835 in our Portuguese list, against #16,196 for "vala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vala vs vaso

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 “vala” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list