Which to use
“cair” is a verb and “clair” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,522
- “cair” frequency rank
- #27,787
- “clair” frequency rank
- 29309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cair | clair |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dar queda | claro |
Letter map: cair vs clair
Shared letters muted; letters that set cair and clair apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Role in the sentence - cair and clair
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cair is averb and clairanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cair is recorded at frequency rank #1,522, classified as averb. clair is at rank #27,787, tagged as anadj, pronounced \klɛʁ\.
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 29309, this pair ranks #39,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cair vs clair
Shared letters: acir. Private to "cair": -. Private to "clair": l.
"cair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "clair" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cair" and "clair" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cair" or "clair" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "cair" and "clair".
- Full dictionary entry for "cair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clair" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cair" and "clair" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clair vs coagir". 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 #39,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.