burlarvsburraWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#29,252
“burlar” frequency rank
#12,384
“burra” frequency rank
41636
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature burlar burra
Definition enganar engenho para tirar água de um poço

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
burlar
5 ch
burra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: burlar is /buɾ.ˈlaɾ/ while burra is /ˈbu.xɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

burlar is recorded at frequency rank #29,252, classified as averb, pronounced /buɾ.ˈlaɾ/. burra is at rank #12,384, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbu.xɐ/.

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 41636, this pair ranks #24,259 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of burlar vs burra

Shared letters: abru. Private to "burlar": l. Private to "burra": -.

"burlar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "burra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • burlarbburlar · brular · bulrar · buralr · burlarr · burllar · burlra · burrlar
  • burrabburra · brura · bura · burar · ubrra

Frequency comparison

burlar#29,252
burra#12,384

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "burlar" and "burra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "burlar" is a verb and "burra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "burlar" or "burra"?
"burra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,384 in our Portuguese list, against #29,252 for "burlar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering burlar vs burra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “burlar”; for a noun, it's “burra”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “burlar” 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