Which to use
“cansado” is an adjective and “cansar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,709
- “cansado” frequency rank
- #18,270
- “cansar” frequency rank
- 20979
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cansado | cansar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fatigado | causar cansaço; fatigar |
Where the eye mixes cansado and cansar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cansado vs cansar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cansado is /kɐ̃.ˈsa.du/ while cansar is /kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20979, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cansado is recorded at frequency rank #2,709, classified as anadj, pronounced /kɐ̃.ˈsa.du/. cansar is at rank #18,270, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ.
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 20979, this pair ranks #49,400 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cansado vs cansar
Shared letters: acns. Private to "cansado": do. Private to "cansar": r.
"cansado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "cansar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cansado" for "cansar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cansado" vs "cansar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cansado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cansar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,400 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cansado" and "cansar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "canja vs cansar". 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 #49,400 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.