cansarvscantarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,270
“cansar” frequency rank
#2,221
“cantar” frequency rank
20491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cansar cantar
Definition causar cansaço; fatigar emitir sons vocálicos formando uma sequência melodiosa

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
cansar
6 ch
cantar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cansar and cantar are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - s in “cansar” becomes t in “cantar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cansar is recorded at frequency rank #18,270, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ. cantar is at rank #2,221, tagged as averb.

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 20491, this pair ranks #50,022 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cansar vs cantar

Shared letters: acnr. Private to "cansar": s. Private to "cantar": t.

"cansar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cantar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cansaracnsar · canasr · cannsar · cansarr · cansra · canssar · casnar · ccansar
  • cantaracntar · canatr · canntar · cantarr · cantra · canttar · catnar · ccantar

Frequency comparison

cansar#18,270
cantar#2,221

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cansar" and "cantar" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by a single letter - s in “cansar” becomes t in “cantar”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "cansar" or "cantar"?
"cantar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,221 in our Portuguese list, against #18,270 for "cansar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cansar vs cantar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cansar” 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