abaixar vs abanar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“abaixar” and “abanar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,754
“abaixar” frequency rank: #34,979
“abanar” frequency rank: 49733
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	abaixar	abanar
Definition	inclinar para baixo (transitivo)	agitar o ar com abano

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

abaixar

6 ch

abanar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abaixar (/a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/) and abanar (/ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/) 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 49733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abaixar is recorded at frequency rank #14,754, classified as averb, pronounced /a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/. abanar is at rank #34,979, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/.

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 49733, this pair ranks #15,261 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abaixar vs abanar

Shared letters: abr. Private to "abaixar": ix. Private to "abanar": n.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

abaixar ← aabixar · abaiaxr · abaixarr · abaixra · abaixxar · abaxiar · abbaixar · abiaxar
abanar ← aabnar · abaanr · abanarr · abannar · abanra · abbanar · abnaar · baanar

Frequency comparison

abaixar#14,754

abanar#34,979

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They are said differently (/a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/ versus /ɐ.bɐ.ˈnaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

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

"abaixar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,754 in our Portuguese list, against #34,979 for "abanar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abaixar vs abanar

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 “abaixar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable