apanharvsarranharConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,911
“apanhar” frequency rank
#34,565
“arranhar” frequency rank
40476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apanhar arranhar
Definition transitivo: ferir levemente (a pele) com as unhas, objeto áspero ou pontiagudo

Where the eye mixes apanhar and arranhar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. apanhar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against arranhar's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
apanhar
8 ch
arranhar

Visual trap between apanhar and arranhar

A purely visual mix-up. apanhar (/ɐ.pɐ.ˈɲaɾ/) and arranhar (/ɐ.Rɐ.ˈɲaɾ/) 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 40476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apanhar is recorded at frequency rank #5,911, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.pɐ.ˈɲaɾ/. arranhar is at rank #34,565, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.Rɐ.ˈɲaɾ/.

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 40476, this pair ranks #25,630 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apanhar vs arranhar

Shared letters: ahnr. Private to "apanhar": p. Private to "arranhar": -.

"apanhar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "arranhar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apanharaapnhar · apahnar · apanahr · apanharr · apanhhar · apanhra · apannhar · apnahar
  • arranhararanhar · ararnhar · arrahnar · arranahr · arranharr · arranhhar · arranhra · arrannhar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "apanhar" and "arranhar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.pɐ.ˈɲaɾ/ versus /ɐ.Rɐ.ˈɲaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apanhar" vs "arranhar" - which ranks higher?
"apanhar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,911 in our Portuguese list, against #34,565 for "arranhar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "apanhar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "arranhar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #25,630 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apanhar" and "arranhar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abrandar vs arranhar". 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 #25,630 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