abaixarvsabdicarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,754
“abaixar” frequency rank
#19,309
“abdicar” frequency rank
34063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abaixar abdicar
Definition inclinar para baixo (transitivo) desistir

Where the eye mixes abaixar and abdicar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
abaixar
7 ch
abdicar

Look-alike desk: abaixar vs abdicar

A purely visual mix-up. abaixar (/a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/) and abdicar (/ɐb.di.ˈkaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34063, 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/. abdicar is at rank #19,309, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐb.di.ˈkaɾ/.

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 34063, this pair ranks #33,297 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abaixar vs abdicar

Shared letters: abir. Private to "abaixar": x. Private to "abdicar": cd.

"abaixar" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC  ·  "abdicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abaixaraabixar · abaiaxr · abaixarr · abaixra · abaixxar · abaxiar · abbaixar · abiaxar
  • abdicarabbdicar · abdciar · abddicar · abdiacr · abdicarr · abdiccar · abdicra · abidcar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abaixar" and "abdicar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/a.bai̯.ˈʃaɾ/, /a.bai̯.ˈʃaʁ/ versus /ɐb.di.ˈkaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abaixar" or "abdicar"?
"abaixar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,754 in our Portuguese list, against #19,309 for "abdicar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abaixar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abdicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #33,297 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abaixar" and "abdicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abarcar vs abdicar". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #33,297 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list