pretender
/pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/
The verdict
“pretender” is a moderately-common Portuguese word, ranked #22,429 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a verb.
- #22,429
- frequency rank, Portuguese
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - ter a intenção de
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pretender |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #22,429 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pretender” sits in Portuguese frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Portuguese entry for pretender is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,429 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for pretender, with forms such as "pertender", "ppretender", and "preetnder". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prender", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Portuguese form is pretender, spelled P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R.
Definition
- 1ter a intenção de
- 2tencionar
- 3desejar
- 4solicitar
- 5intentar
- 6aspirar
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pertender,ppretender,preetnder,pretedner,pretendder,pretenderr,pretendre,pretenedr,pretennder,pretneder,prettender,prretender,prteender,rpetender
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pretender - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "pretender"?
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Using “pretender”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Portuguese spelling is P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɾɨ.tẽ.ˈdeɾ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “prender” - see the side-by-side comparison. pretender vs prender
- Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.