Which to use
“cansar” and “cursar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,270
- “cansar” frequency rank
- #19,107
- “cursar” frequency rank
- 37377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cansar | cursar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | causar cansaço; fatigar | seguir o curso de |
Where the eye mixes cansar and cursar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cansar and cursar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses cansar with cursar
A purely visual mix-up. cansar (/kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ) and cursar (/kuɾ.ˈsaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37377, 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. cursar is at rank #19,107, tagged as averb, pronounced /kuɾ.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 37377, this pair ranks #29,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cansar vs cursar
Shared letters: acrs. Private to "cansar": n. Private to "cursar": u.
"cansar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cursar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cansar" for "cursar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cansar" vs "cursar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "cursar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cansar" and "cursar" 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 #29,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.