cassarvscausarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,183
“cassar” frequency rank
#2,619
“causar” frequency rank
36802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cassar causar
Definition impedir que produza efeitos, anular, revogar (direitos políticos, mandatos, licenças, etc.): fazer acontecer, ser causa de

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
cassar
6 ch
causar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cassar (/ka.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 - s in “cassar” becomes u in “causar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cassar is recorded at frequency rank #34,183, classified as averb, pronounced /ka.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 36802, this pair ranks #29,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cassar vs causar

Shared letters: acrs. Private to "cassar": -. Private to "causar": u.

"cassar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "causar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cassaracssar · casar · casasr · cassarr · cassra · ccassar · csasar
  • causarcasuar · cauasr · causarr · causra · caussar · ccausar · cuasar

Frequency comparison

cassar#34,183
causar#2,619

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cassar" and "causar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ka.ˈsaɾ/ versus /kaw.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cassar" or "causar"?
"causar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,619 in our Portuguese list, against #34,183 for "cassar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering cassar vs causar

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 “cassar” 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