Which to use
“apenas” and “apesar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #104
- “apenas” frequency rank
- #404
- “apesar” frequency rank
- 508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apenas | apesar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | somente | não obstante |
Where the eye mixes apenas and apesar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. apenas and apesar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between apenas and apesar
A purely visual mix-up. apenas (/ɐ.ˈpe.nɐʃ/) and apesar (/ɐ.pe.ˈzaɾ/) 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 508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apenas is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.ˈpe.nɐʃ/. apesar is at rank #404, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.pe.ˈzaɾ/.
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 508, this pair ranks #75,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of apenas vs apesar
Shared letters: aeps. Private to "apenas": n. Private to "apesar": r.
"apenas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "apesar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "apenas" for "apesar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "apenas" vs "apesar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "apenas" and "apesar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "apenas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apesar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apenas" and "apesar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alisar vs apesar". 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 #75,158 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.