Which to use
“cansar” and “cavar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,270
- “cansar” frequency rank
- #23,601
- “cavar” frequency rank
- 41871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cansar | cavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | causar cansaço; fatigar | abrir ou revolver a terra com enxada ou sacho; escavar; sachar |
Where the eye mixes cansar and cavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cansar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against cavar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cansar vs cavar
A purely visual mix-up. cansar (/kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ) and cavar (/kɐ.ˈvaɾ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41871, 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. cavar is at rank #23,601, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈvaɾ/.
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 41871, this pair ranks #23,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cansar vs cavar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "cansar": ns. Private to "cavar": v.
"cansar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cansar" and "cavar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cansar" vs "cavar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cansar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cavar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cansar" and "cavar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cagão vs cavar". 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 #23,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.