Which to use
“vala” and “vela” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,196
- “vala” frequency rank
- #5,478
- “vela” frequency rank
- 21674
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vala | vela |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | peça de brim ou lona que, presa às vergas de um mastro ou ao próprio mastro da embarcação, impele esta com a ajuda do vento |
Where the eye mixes vala and vela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: vala vs vela
A purely visual mix-up. vala (/ˈva.lɐ/) and vela (/ˈvɛ.lɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “vala” becomes e in “vela”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21674, 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/. vela is at rank #5,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɛ.lɐ/.
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 21674, this pair ranks #48,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vala vs vela
Shared letters: alv. Private to "vala": -. Private to "vela": e.
"vala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vala" for "vela" ever safe?
Frequency check: "vala" vs "vela" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vala" and "vela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vala vs velar". 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 #48,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.