usar

/u.ˈzaɾ/

//u.ˈzaɾ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“usar” sits in 12 confusable pairs (corpus #359) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#359
frequency rank, Portuguese
147
“U” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - empregar habitualmente; fazer uso de; gastar com o uso; pôr em prática; pôr em uso; servir-se de; trazer ou fazer habitualmente; ter por costume; costumar; cotiar; deteriorar; praticar; trajar; tra...

Corpus desk

Index PT-usar · usar · Portuguese

usar · rank #359 · 4 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #359
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 147
  • PHOTO-FINISH processo

Nearest frequency peer: processo (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Vizinhos de frequência do confusável “usar”

Pares de peso semelhante no corpus, aparte dos confusáveis abaixo

corpus weight

What this shows As barras situam “usar” face aos lemas portugueses mais próximos por rank, não um reprint da secretária de confusáveis.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

usar vs use
50% similar
usar vs uva
50% similar
usar vs usual
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for usar
PropertyValue
Headwordusar
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechVerb
IPA/u.ˈzaɾ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#359
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Rank de corpus junto a confusáveis de “usar”

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.usarcai aqui:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “processo” (#358), “ajuda” (#360), “polícia” (#357). Entre 147 lemas com “U”, “usar” fica em #359. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for usar is neighbouring look-alikes ("use", "uva", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /u.ˈzaɾ/. Frequency #359 among 147 “U” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for usar, with forms such as "uasr", "usarr", and "usra". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "use", "uva", "usual", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Portuguese form is usar, spelled U-S-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    empregar habitualmente; fazer uso de; gastar com o uso; pôr em prática; pôr em uso; servir-se de; trazer ou fazer habitualmente; ter por costume; costumar; cotiar; deteriorar; praticar; trajar; trazer; vestir
  2. 2
    estar acostumado; ter o hábito ou a prática de; servir-se
  3. 3
    estar em uso, praticar-se

This word in other languages

use(English)usar(Español)user(Français)gebrauchen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • uasr
  • usarr
  • usra
  • ussar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of usar - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

uasr2usarr1usra2ussar1
Edit distance from "usar"

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 "usar"?
"usar" is spelled U-S-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /u.ˈzaɾ/.
What does "usar" mean?
As a verb, "usar" means: empregar habitualmente; fazer uso de; gastar com o uso; pôr em prática; pôr em uso; servir-se de; trazer ou fazer habitualmente; ter por costume; costumar; cotiar; deteriorar; praticar; trajar; tra...
What words are commonly confused with "usar"?
"usar" is commonly confused with "use", "uva", "usual". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "usar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "usar" is /u.ˈzaɾ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "usar" come from?
"usar" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "usar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

isto#349medo#379logo#318rede#402

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list