preferir

//pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ// verb

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#10,589

in Portuguese word usage

Misspellings

12

tracked variants

Confusables

4

similar word pairs

preferir is aPortugueseverb. It means: dar preferência, primazia a; determinar-se por, ou em favor de Pronounced /pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. Often confused with prevenir and proferir.

Key facts for preferir
PropertyValue
Headwordpreferir
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,589
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of preferir in Portuguese word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for preferir is 8 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,589 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for preferir, with forms such as "perferir", "ppreferir", and "preefrir". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "prevenir", "proferir", "preferi", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Portuguese form is preferir, spelled P-R-E-F-E-R-I-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    dar preferência, primazia a; determinar-se por, ou em favor de
  2. 2
    gostar mais de
  3. 3
    escolher

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: perferir,ppreferir,preefrir,prefeirr,preferirr,preferri,preferrir,prefferir,prefreir,prfeerir,prreferir,rpeferir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for preferir

Misspelling Variants of "preferir"

perferir8ppreferir9preefrir8prefeirr8preferirr9preferri8preferrir9prefferir9
Misspelling Variants of "preferir"

Frequency rank: #10,589 in Portuguese

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "preferir"?
"preferir" is spelled P-R-E-F-E-R-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/.
What does "preferir" mean?
As a verb, "preferir" means: dar preferência, primazia a; determinar-se por, ou em favor de
What words are commonly confused with "preferir"?
"preferir" is commonly confused with "prevenir", "proferir", "preferi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "preferir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "preferir" is /pɾɨ.fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "preferir" come from?
"preferir" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby Portuguese words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our Portuguese index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.