bailarvsbandarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#49,314
“bailar” frequency rank
#45,713
“bandar” frequency rank
95027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bailar bandar
Definition executar dançando colocar bandas

Letter map: bailar vs bandar

Shared letters muted; letters that set bailar and bandar apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. bailar (CVVCVC) and bandar (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
bailar
6 ch
bandar

Pair insight - bailar / bandar

bailar and bandar are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bailar is recorded at frequency rank #49,314, classified as averb, pronounced /baj.ˈlaɾ/. bandar is at rank #45,713, tagged as averb.

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 95027, this pair ranks #77 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bailar vs bandar

Shared letters: abr. Private to "bailar": il. Private to "bandar": dn.

"bailar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "bandar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bailar ← abilar · baialr · bailarr · baillar · bailra · baliar · bbailar · bialar
  • bandar ← abndar · badnar · banadr · bandarr · banddar · bandra · banndar · bbandar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bailar" for "bandar" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "bailar" vs "bandar" - which ranks higher?
"bandar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,713 in our Portuguese list, against #49,314 for "bailar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bailar" and "bandar".

  • Full dictionary entry for "bailar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bandar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #77 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bailar" and "bandar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bandar vs bandit". 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 #77 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