bailar vs beijar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#49,314
“bailar” frequency rank: #5,602
“beijar” frequency rank: 54916
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bailar	beijar
Definition	executar dançando	oscular; dar beijo (ósculo)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bailar and beijar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

bailar

6 ch

beijar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bailar (/baj.ˈlaɾ/) and beijar (/bei̯.ˈʒaʁ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɾ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɹ/) 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 54916, 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/. beijar is at rank #5,602, tagged as averb, pronounced /bei̯.ˈʒaʁ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɾ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɹ/.

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 54916, this pair ranks #10,934 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bailar vs beijar

Shared letters: abir. Private to "bailar": l. Private to "beijar": ej.

"bailar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "beijar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

bailar ← abilar · baialr · bailarr · baillar · bailra · baliar · bbailar · bialar
beijar ← bbeijar · beiajr · beijarr · beijjar · beijra · bejiar · biejar · ebijar

Frequency comparison

bailar#49,314

beijar#5,602

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bailar" and "beijar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/baj.ˈlaɾ/ versus /bei̯.ˈʒaʁ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɾ/, /bei̯.ˈʒaɹ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "bailar" or "beijar"?

"beijar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,602 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.

Remembering bailar vs beijar

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