brigarvsbrincarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,990
“brigar” frequency rank
#2,263
“brincar” frequency rank
9253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature brigar brincar
Definition ter brigas divertir-se; jogar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set brigar and brincar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
brigar
7 ch
brincar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. brigar (/bɾi.ˈɡaɾ/) and brincar (/bɾĩ.ˈkaɾ/) 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 9253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

brigar is recorded at frequency rank #6,990, classified as averb, pronounced /bɾi.ˈɡaɾ/. brincar is at rank #2,263, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɾĩ.ˈkaɾ/.

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 9253, this pair ranks #64,245 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of brigar vs brincar

Shared letters: abir. Private to "brigar": g. Private to "brincar": cn.

"brigar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "brincar" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • brigarbbrigar · birgar · brgiar · briagr · brigarr · briggar · brigra · brrigar
  • brincarbbrincar · birncar · bricnar · brinacr · brincarr · brinccar · brincra · brinncar

Frequency comparison

brigar#6,990
brincar#2,263

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "brigar" and "brincar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/bɾi.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /bɾĩ.ˈkaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "brigar" or "brincar"?
"brincar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,263 in our Portuguese list, against #6,990 for "brigar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering brigar vs brincar

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 “brigar” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list