caçarvscitarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,115
“caçar” frequency rank
#5,831
“citar” frequency rank
12946
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caçar citar
Definition perseguir uma presa e, usualmente, matá-la provocar (o toiro) para realizar qualquer sorte tauromáquica

Where the eye mixes caçar and citar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
caçar
5 ch
citar

Why the eye confuses caçar with citar

A purely visual mix-up. caçar (/kɐ.ˈsaɾ/) and citar (/si.ˈtaɾ/) 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 12946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caçar is recorded at frequency rank #7,115, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈsaɾ/. citar is at rank #5,831, tagged as averb, pronounced /si.ˈtaɾ/.

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 12946, this pair ranks #59,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caçar vs citar

Shared letters: acr. Private to "caçar": ç. Private to "citar": it.

"caçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "citar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • citarccitar · ciatr · citarr · citra · cittar · ctiar · ictar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caçar" and "citar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈsaɾ/ versus /si.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "caçar" or "citar" show up more?
"citar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,831 in our Portuguese list, against #7,115 for "caçar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "citar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #59,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caçar" and "citar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ciao vs citar". 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 #59,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list