Which to use
“bailar” is a verb and “bilhar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,314
- “bailar” frequency rank
- #23,581
- “bilhar” frequency rank
- 72895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bailar | bilhar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | executar dançando | jogo que se pratica impulsionando com um taco bolas, de marfim ou material semelhante, sobre uma mesa retangular normalmente forrada de pano geralmente verde |
Where the eye mixes bailar and bilhar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bailar and bilhar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bailar is /baj.ˈlaɾ/ while bilhar is /bi.ˈʎaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72895, 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/. bilhar is at rank #23,581, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bi.ˈʎaɾ/.
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 72895, this pair ranks #2,916 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bailar vs bilhar
Shared letters: abilr. Private to "bailar": -. Private to "bilhar": h.
"bailar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "bilhar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bailar" for "bilhar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bailar" vs "bilhar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bailar" and "bilhar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bailar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bilhar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,916 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bailar" and "bilhar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bailar vs bandar". 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 #2,916 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.