cancelarvscâncerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,388
“cancelar” frequency rank
#1,607
“câncer” frequency rank
6995
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cancelar câncer
Definition desmarcar um compromisso doença caracterizada por rápida multiplicação celular irrefreada de uma célula que teve seu ADN danosamente modificado

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
cancelar
6 ch
câncer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cancelar is /kɐ̃.seˈla(ʁ)/ while câncer is /ˈkɐ̃.sɛɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 6995, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cancelar is recorded at frequency rank #5,388, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ̃.seˈla(ʁ)/. câncer is at rank #1,607, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐ̃.sɛɾ/.

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 6995, this pair ranks #67,265 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cancelar vs câncer

Shared letters: cenr. Private to "cancelar": al. Private to "câncer": â.

"cancelar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "câncer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cancelaracncelar · cacnelar · canccelar · cancealr · cancelarr · cancellar · cancelra · canclear

Frequency comparison

cancelar#5,388
câncer#1,607

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cancelar" and "câncer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cancelar" is a verb and "câncer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cancelar" or "câncer"?
"câncer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,607 in our Portuguese list, against #5,388 for "cancelar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cancelar vs câncer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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