In this article I will teach you how to correct several Portuguese errors at once directly in the database of your WordPress site or another CMS. All of this automatically and massively without the need to edit page by page, article by article.
Portuguese is not one of my strengths, because I left high school and didn't go to college. In my early years on the website I wrote several articles, many containing extreme Portuguese errors. Only over the years have I been able to identify these common errors, but many articles continue to have such errors.
Imagine how tedious it must be to manually go through article by article looking for small errors in accentuation or words? Fortunately, there is a way to correct all the mistakes at once within your WordPress or by accessing your website's database.
To make such changes in bulk, we use the famous tool found in various text editors called search and replace, which literally means search and replace.
Cautions when editing the database massively
We will teach you how to correct several Portuguese spelling errors in this article in an easy and less laborious way, but it is worth remembering that there are dangers in directly replacing words in the database.
It may be that you accidentally add an accent to a hyperlink, but it must not contain any accents. If the CMS does not have an automatic correction, this can break the link to your article. The same applies to image names and links present within the articles.
That's why we always encourage you to use a program that detects offline links and 404 errors to prevent some pages on your site from dying. I remember that even today the editing of some articles is buggy because of some lines of code from the gutenberg that were not deleted the day I tried to remove the manual summaries of my articles.
In this article, we encourage the use of regular expressions like (.*?) and *\?, be careful not to replace words unintentionally. You might end up breaking some articles in just a few clicks. For this reason, if you are using WordPress, we recommend using plugins to edit the database instead of doing it manually, so you can see what will change before replacing it.
Correcting several Portuguese errors directly by WordPress
When searching the plugins directory for search and replace, you find several plugins that search directly in the database and replace specified words. After trying out a few plugins, I ended up liking Search Regex.
Unlike other plugins that edit the database, you can edit only the articles, see before editing anything, manually edit each article without opening its edit page, check beforehand if the changes will not affect any link or agreement orthographic.
With the program open, I type the word I want to replace, like brasil written in lowercase (I disable ignore case). I usually add a space between the words to avoid editing a link that typically doesn’t have uppercase letters or accents.
After finding several instances of brasil written in lowercase, I place the spaces I added back and the correct word Brasil in the Replace field. After ensuring that everything is correct, I simply click on replace all and replace all lowercase brasil with uppercase Brasil.
If you search for rare spelling errors, I can edit manually in order not to damage other articles that use such a word correctly. For this, just click on the three dots of the article listed in the search replace and then click on inline editor.
It is possible to use both tools with various popular Portuguese errors. At the end of this article, I will list the common mistakes I make and for which I used the search regex replacer.
Correcting various errors directly in the database
I'm not going to go into much detail in this mode, but it consists of opening your database in some text editor or directly in a database program like phpadmin or navicat and massively replacing some words in search and replace mode.
It is up to you to find a way to use the search and replace tool, which can usually be found with the CTRL + F keys. You can also use standard text editors like bbedit to edit the SQL files directly and then import them back to the site.
Remember to check the substitutions carefully to avoid bugging your database. If you have no experience in handling databases or tools like search replace, nothing that a good keyboard at Google will help you with.
The important thing is not to spend time editing article by article. If you don't want to risk it, just search for errors with the finder or search in order to manually edit the database without the need to edit page by page.
Correcting the Whys and more in a practical way
One of the main mistakes I used to make in the past was confusing "mas" with "mais" and also the incorrect use of "porquês." There are thousands of questions on my website that use "porque" together instead of separately; in order to correct this properly, most of the time I need to edit them one by one instead of applying replace all.
That's because I might end up replacing a because that is correct with an incorrect one. Especially in expressions like more and but, as well as accent marks on à and other mistakes where both words exist but are used in different situations. In this case, mass replacement is not useful and can be dangerous, but fortunately, it can save time.
Using the Search Regex plugin or another editor with search and replace tools, preferably one that accepts regular expressions, you can directly edit multiple articles without the need to enter each page individually, even if it's done manually.
You can also use some regular expressions to find porque in questions in order to correct it to por que. Or you can vary between uppercase and lowercase to find such expressions at the beginning of a sentence.
Another thing I do is use possible words before or after the wrong word in order to find ways to correct it without affecting the versions that are correct in a given sentence. For example, I look for years ago in order to remove the word ago which is incorrect in this sentence.
Always test possible keywords in order to find ways to use replace all without affecting the phrases that are correct. Just use a little common sense!
Main Portuguese errors corrected by replace
I will add several word instructions that you can correct below. I will leave any text to be searched within square brackets [] including spaces and HTML codes common in text formatting.
You can correct case errors (uppercase and lowercase) by disabling ignore case and writing the word you want to replace. Remember that usually uppercase words begin in sentences, sometimes before a period with a space [. ] or before a paragraph HTML code with a space [ ]
Simple mistakes to be corrected en masse
- wrong = correct
- doubts = doubts
- where = where
- factories = factories
- rest = rest
- self-esteem = self-esteem
- therefore = why
- again = again
- Monday = Monday
- depart = from
- self-esteem = self-esteem
- eyebrow = eyebrow
- help you = help you
- politics = politics
- comedy = comedy
Words that need to be replaced carefully
- analyze / analysis
- because why
- but more
- influence / influence
- agent / us
- Down / down
In time I will update this list with other common mistakes that I remember. If you can comment on other mistakes, it will help readers a lot. We recommend errors that do not have correct equivalents in the Portuguese language. This way it does not affect any correct phrase on the site.
Recently using a tool I discovered some errors on the site and I will list them below:
- accessory = & gt; accessory;
- advisable = & gt; advisable;
- adolescence = & gt; adolescence;
- aerea = & gt; aerial;
- agency = & gt; agency;
- nice = & gt; pleasant;
- nice = & gt; nice;
- help you = & gt; help you out;
- album = & gt; album;
- alcohol = & gt; alcohol;
- alem = & gt; beyond;
- someone = & gt; someone;
- analyze = & gt; analyze;
- here = & gt; on here;
- rainbow = & gt; Rainbow;
- asim = & gt; like this;
- murder = & gt; murder;
- assistance = & gt; assistance;
- behind = & gt; behind;
- through = & gt; through;
- authentic = & gt; authentic;
- autonomo = & gt; autonomous, autonomous;
- benefits = & gt; benefits;
- blessing = & gt; blessing;
- blessings = & gt; blessings;
- hairdresser = & gt; hair stylist;
- camara = & gt; chamber;
- cambio = & gt; exchange;
- camera = & gt; camera;
- chapter = & gt; chapter;
- characteristic = & gt; feature;
- characteristics = & gt; features;
- cassar = & gt; hunt, marry, cassar;
- catalog = & gt; catalog;
- scenarios = & gt; scenarios;
- citizens = & gt; citizens;
- cientifica = & gt; scientific;
- scientific = & gt; scientific;
- circle = & gt; circle;
- classica = & gt; classical;
- classic = & gt; classic;
- classics = & gt; classics;
- start = & gt; begin;
- comedy = & gt; comedy;
- trade = & gt; trade;
- construction = & gt; construction;
- constructed = & gt; built;
- continued = & gt; continued;
- contributed = & gt; contributed;
- child = & gt; kid;
- children = & gt; kids;
- criticism = & gt; criticisms;
- critics = & gt; critics;
- culinary = & gt; cooking;
- custume = & gt; custom;
- decades = & gt; decades;
- demon = & gt; demon, demon;
- deposit = & gt; deposit;
- destroy = & gt; destroys;
- destroyed = & gt; destroyed;
- daily = & gt; diary;
- differences = & gt; differences;
- available = & gt; available;
- distributed = & gt; distributed;
- disturbances = & gt; disorders;
- doubts = & gt; doubts;
- economica = & gt; economic, economic;
- then = & gt; So;
- episode = & gt; episode;
- species = & gt; species;
- hope = & gt; hope;
- spirit = & gt; spirit;
- spirits = & gt; spirits;
- station = & gt; They are;
- debuted = & gt; debuted;
- studio = & gt; studio;
- excellent = & gt; great;
- exite = & gt; exist;
- exitem = & gt; exist;
- spectator = & gt; viewer;
- extende = & gt; extends;
- extended = & gt; extended;
- easy = & gt; easy;
- family = & gt; family;
- families = & gt; families;
- fan = & gt; fan;
- physics = & gt; physics;
- fluid = & gt; fluid;
- fragile = & gt; fragile;
- galaxy = & gt; galaxy;
- geito = & gt; way;
- gender = & gt; genre;
- generos = & gt; genders;
- giria = & gt; slang;
- girias = & gt; Slang;
- graphics = & gt; graphics;
- heroic = & gt; heroic;
- historica = & gt; historical;
- homosexual = & gt; homosexual;
- schedule = & gt; schedule;
- there were = & gt; there was;
- idea = & gt; idea;
- ideas = & gt; ideas;
- immobile = & gt; immobile;
- importance = & gt; importance;
- impossible = & gt; impossible;
- incredible = & gt; incredible;
- index = & gt; index;
- indices = & gt; indexes;
- individual = & gt; individual;
- industria = & gt; industry;
- industries = & gt; industries;
- childhood = & gt; childhood;
- unfortunately = & gt; unfortunately;
- infra-red = & gt; infra-red;
- english = & gt; English;
- start = & gt; start;
- intelligence = & gt; intelligence;
- innumerable = & gt; countless;
- inves = & gt; instead;
- invez = & gt; instead;
- brother = & gt; brother;
- junior = & gt; junior;
- juz = & gt; justice;
- legendary = & gt; legendary;
- takes it = & gt; take you;
- license = & gt; license;
- lider = & gt; leader;
- leaders = & gt; leaders;
- lingua = & gt; language;
- tongues = & gt; languages;
- logic = & gt; logic;
- lights = & gt; luces;
- magic = & gt; magic;
- environment = & gt; environment;
- memory = & gt; memory;
- menas = & gt; any less;
- method = & gt; method;
- minimum = & gt; Minimum;
- muinto = & gt; very;
- munto = & gt; very;
- musicas = & gt; songs;
- months = & gt; months;
- no = & gt; not;
- business = & gt; Business;
- nobody = & gt; no one;
- level = & gt; level;
- numbers = & gt; numbers;
- odio = & gt; hate;
- great = & gt; great, great;
- great = & gt; great, great;
- page = & gt; page;
- countries = & gt; countries;
- period = & gt; period;
- personagen = & gt; character;
- plastica = & gt; plastic;
- plastic = & gt; plastic;
- problem = & gt; problem;
- politics = & gt; policies;
- politician = & gt; political;
- possible = & gt; possible;
- possible = & gt; possible;
- own = & gt; It has;
- pq = & gt; why, why, why, why;
- damage = & gt; loss;
- prevent = & gt; to prevent;
- primary = & gt; primary;
- principle = & gt; principle;
- privilege = & gt; privilege;
- forbid = & gt; prohibits;
- forbid = & gt; forbid;
- propio = & gt; own;
- purpose = & gt; purpose;
- province = & gt; province;
- next = & gt; next;
- next = & gt; next;
- next = & gt; next;
- public = & gt; public;
- publicos & gt; public;
- when = & gt; When;
- question = & gt; question;
- chemistry = & gt; chemistry;
- quizer = & gt; want to;
- radio = & gt; radio;
- reference = & gt; reference;
- references = & gt; references;
- gather = & gt; get together;
- romantic = & gt; romantic;
- exit = & gt; output;
- saira = & gt; left, will leave;
- sao = & gt; are;
- healthy = & gt; healthy;
- health = & gt; Cheers;
- centuries = & gt; centuries;
- sensitive = & gt; sensitive;
- serie = & gt; series;
- seriously = & gt; seriously, series, serial;
- symbol = & gt; symbol;
- simply = & gt; simply;
- also = & gt; too;
- tao = & gt; So;
- tb = & gt; too;
- tbm = & gt; too;
- have it = & gt; have it;
- tecnica = & gt; technical;
- trends = & gt; Tendencies;
- tijela = & gt; bowl;
- title = & gt; title;
- tres = & gt; three;
- tourist = & gt; touristic;
- turisticos = & gt; Touristic;
- ultima = & gt; last;
- unica = & gt; only;
- unique = & gt; single;
- user = & gt; user, user;
- util = & gt; useful;
- several = & gt; several;
- vehicle = & gt; vehicle;
- travel = & gt; travel;
- violence = & gt; violence;
- virus = & gt; virus;
- victory = & gt; victory;
- you = & gt; you;
- flight = & gt; flight;
- yoga = & gt; yoga;
- accessories = & gt; accessories;
- aerosol = & gt; aerosol;
- agricola = & gt; agricultural;
- agricolas = & gt; agricultural;
- aircrafts = & gt; aircraft;
- aki = & gt; on here;
- alcoholic = & gt; alcoholic;
- algus = & gt; some;
- there = & gt; there;
- ad = & gt; advertisement;
- area = & gt; area;
- murdered = & gt; murdered;
- assasinated = & gt; assassinated;
- killer = & gt; killer;
- assigned = & gt; assigned;
- plane = & gt; airplane;
- beije = & gt; beige;
- baldness = & gt; baldness;
- champions = & gt; champions;
- chapters = & gt; chapters;
- category = & gt; category;
- cyclane = & gt; sicran;
- citizens = & gt; citizens;
- scientific = & gt; scientific;
- cms = & gt; cm;
- coconut = & gt; coconuts;
- demons = & gt; demons, demons;
- destroyed = & gt; destroyed;
- destroyed = & gt; destroyed;
- day = & gt; day;
- days = & gt; days;
- available = & gt; available;
- dragon = & gt; Dragon;
- ect = & gt; etc;
- emphasis = & gt; emphasis;
- titled = & gt; entitled;
- episodes = & gt; episodes;
- times = & gt; times;
- equilibrium = & gt; balance;
- exitar = & gt; to hesitate;
- extender = & gt; extend;
- thanks = & gt; thanks;
- guión = & gt; guion;
- empire = & gt; empire;
- intent = & gt; intention;
- invasion = & gt; invasion;
- judges = & gt; judges;
- kilo = & gt; kilogram;
- kilometers = & gt; kilometers, kilometers;
- logista = & gt; shopkeeper;
- magician = & gt; Magic;
- mecher = & gt; stir;
- multimedia = & gt; multimedia, multimedia;
- multipurpose = & gt; multipurpose;
- pra = & gt; for;
- primary = & gt; primary;
- production = & gt; production;
- kilometer = & gt; kilometer;
- reset = & gt; reestablished;
- reestablishment = & gt; restoration;
- clock = & gt; watch;
- rhythm = & gt; rhythm;
- century = & gt; century;
- secondary = & gt; secondary;
- secondary = & gt; secondary;
- symbols = & gt; symbols;
- synonyms = & gt; synonyms;
- socio-cultural = & gt; socio-cultural;
- maybe = & gt; perhaps;
- thru = & gt; through;
- tipica = & gt; typical;
- unicas = & gt; unique;
- several = & gt; various;
- video = & gt; video;
- wanna = & gt; want to;