barravsborrarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: barra is a noun, borrar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“barra” is a noun and “borrar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,355
“barra” frequency rank
#41,857
“borrar” frequency rank
44212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature barra borrar
Definition peça larga de metal ou outro material, via de regra de forma cilíndrica ou prismática cobrir com bosta a eira terrosa, previamente à malha do cereal, para assim facilitar a lavoura.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
barra
6 ch
borrar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: barra is anoun and borraraverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

barra is recorded at frequency rank #2,355, classified as anoun. borrar is at rank #41,857, tagged as averb, pronounced /bo.ˈraɾ/.

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 44212, this pair ranks #21,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of barra vs borrar

Shared letters: abr. Private to "barra": -. Private to "borrar": o.

"barra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "borrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • barra ← abrra · bara · barar · bbarra · brara
  • borrar ← bborrar · borarr · borrarr · borrra · brorar · obrrar

Frequency comparison

barra#2,355
borrar#41,857

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "barra" and "borrar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "barra" is a noun and "borrar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "barra" or "borrar"?
"barra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,355 in our Portuguese list, against #41,857 for "borrar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering barra vs borrar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “barra”; for a verb, it's “borrar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “barra” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list