arrancar vs arrasar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#8,422
“arrancar” frequency rank: #13,220
“arrasar” frequency rank: 21642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	arrancar	arrasar
Definition	tirar da terra	tornar raso, nivelar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set arrancar and arrasar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

arrancar

7 ch

arrasar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. arrancar (/ɐ.Rɐ̃.ˈkaɾ/) and arrasar (/ɐ.Rɐ.ˈzaɾ/) 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 21642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arrancar is recorded at frequency rank #8,422, classified as averb, pronounced /ɐ.Rɐ̃.ˈkaɾ/. arrasar is at rank #13,220, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɐ.Rɐ.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 21642, this pair ranks #48,559 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of arrancar vs arrasar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "arrancar": cn. Private to "arrasar": s.

"arrancar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "arrasar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

arrancar ← arancar · ararncar · arracnar · arranacr · arrancarr · arranccar · arrancra · arranncar
arrasar ← ararsar · arasar · arraasr · arrasarr · arrasra · arrassar · arrsaar · rarasar

Frequency comparison

arrancar#8,422

arrasar#13,220

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arrancar" and "arrasar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐ.Rɐ̃.ˈkaɾ/ versus /ɐ.Rɐ.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "arrancar" or "arrasar"?

"arrancar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,422 in our Portuguese list, against #13,220 for "arrasar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering arrancar vs arrasar

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