piresvsportesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pires” and “portes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,328
“pires” frequency rank
#33,283
“portes” frequency rank
80611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pires portes
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de pirar o de pirarse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de portar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pires and portes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pires
6 ch
portes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pires ([ˈpiɾes]) and portes ([ˈpoɾt̪es]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pires is recorded at frequency rank #47,328, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpiɾes]. portes is at rank #33,283, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpoɾt̪es].

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 80611, this pair ranks #11,427 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pires vs portes

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "pires": i. Private to "portes": ot.

"pires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "portes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • piresipres · piers · piress · pirres · pirse · ppires · pries
  • portesoprtes · porets · porrtes · portess · portse · porttes · potres · pportes

Frequency comparison

pires#47,328
portes#33,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pires" and "portes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpiɾes] versus [ˈpoɾt̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pires" or "portes"?
"portes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,283 in our Spanish list, against #47,328 for "pires". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pires vs portes

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 “pires” 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