abafar vs abaixar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“abafar” is a noun and “abaixar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,206
“abafar” frequency rank: #14,754
“abaixar” frequency rank: 38960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abafar	abaixar
Definition	o mesmo que albafar; incenso	inclinar para baixo (transitivo)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abafar and abaixar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

abafar

7 ch

abaixar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abafar is /a.ba.ˈfaɾ/ while abaixar is /a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abafar is recorded at frequency rank #24,206, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ba.ˈfaɾ/. abaixar is at rank #14,754, tagged as averb, pronounced /a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/.

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 38960, this pair ranks #27,412 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abafar vs abaixar

Shared letters: abr. Private to "abafar": f. Private to "abaixar": ix.

"abafar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "abaixar" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

abafar ← aabfar · abaafr · abafarr · abaffar · abafra · abbafar · abfaar · baafar
abaixar ← aabixar · abaiaxr · abaixarr · abaixra · abaixxar · abaxiar · abbaixar · abiaxar

Frequency comparison

abafar#24,206

abaixar#14,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abafar" and "abaixar" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abafar" is a noun and "abaixar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "abafar" or "abaixar"?

"abaixar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,754 in our Portuguese list, against #24,206 for "abafar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abafar vs abaixar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “abafar”; for a verb, it's “abaixar”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abafar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable