Which to use
“cansar” and “causar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,270
- “cansar” frequency rank
- #2,619
- “causar” frequency rank
- 20889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cansar | causar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | causar cansaço; fatigar | fazer acontecer, ser causa de |
Where the eye mixes cansar and causar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cansar (CVCCVC) and causar (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cansar and causar
A purely visual mix-up. cansar (/kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ) and causar (/kaw.ˈzaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “cansar” becomes u in “causar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20889, 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. causar is at rank #2,619, tagged as averb, pronounced /kaw.ˈzaɾ/.
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 20889, this pair ranks #49,518 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cansar vs causar
Shared letters: acrs. Private to "cansar": n. Private to "causar": u.
"cansar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "causar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cansar" and "causar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cansar" vs "causar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cansar" and "causar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cansar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "causar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,518 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cansar" and "causar" 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 #49,518 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.