Which to use
“vala” is a noun and “vil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,196
- “vala” frequency rank
- #26,593
- “vil” frequency rank
- 42789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vala | vil |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | reles |
Where the eye mixes vala and vil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses vala with vil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vala is /ˈva.lɐ/ while vil is /ˈviɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42789, 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/. vil is at rank #26,593, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈviɫ/.
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 42789, this pair ranks #22,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vala vs vil
Shared letters: lv. Private to "vala": a. Private to "vil": i.
"vala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vala ← avla · vaal · valla · vlaa · vvala
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vala" and "vil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "vala" or "vil" show up more?
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 "vil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vala" and "vil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "velo vs vil". 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 #22,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.