cancelarvschancelerConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#5,388
“cancelar” frequency rank
#9,307
“chanceler” frequency rank
14695
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cancelar chanceler
Definition desmarcar um compromisso título atribuído em diversas instituições cuja organização é inspirada no Império Romano; a função de chanceler pode ser diferente de instituição para instituição

Where the eye mixes cancelar and chanceler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
cancelar
9 ch
chanceler

Visual trap between cancelar and chanceler

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cancelar is /kɐ̃.seˈla(ʁ)/ while chanceler is /ʃɐ̃.sɨ.ˈlɛɾ/. 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 14695, 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)/. chanceler is at rank #9,307, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʃɐ̃.sɨ.ˈlɛɾ/.

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 14695, this pair ranks #57,305 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cancelar vs chanceler

Shared letters: acelnr. Private to "cancelar": -. Private to "chanceler": h.

"cancelar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "chanceler" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cancelaracncelar · cacnelar · canccelar · cancealr · cancelarr · cancellar · cancelra · canclear
  • chancelercahnceler · cchanceler · chacneler · chancceler · chanceelr · chancelerr · chanceller · chancelre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cancelar" and "chanceler" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cancelar" is a verb and "chanceler" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cancelar" or "chanceler"?
"cancelar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,388 in our Portuguese list, against #9,307 for "chanceler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cancelar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "chanceler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #57,305 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cancelar" and "chanceler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cancelar vs cautelar". 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 #57,305 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