Which to use
“cercar” and “clicar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,230
- “cercar” frequency rank
- #10,855
- “clicar” frequency rank
- 36085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cercar | clicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pôr cerco a, sitiar | gerar um clique (estalido) |
Where the eye mixes cercar and clicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cercar (CVCCVC) and clicar (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cercar with clicar
A purely visual mix-up. cercar (/sɨɾ.ˈkaɾ/) and clicar (/kli.ˈkaɾ/) 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 36085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cercar is recorded at frequency rank #25,230, classified as averb, pronounced /sɨɾ.ˈkaɾ/. clicar is at rank #10,855, tagged as averb, pronounced /kli.ˈkaɾ/.
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 36085, this pair ranks #30,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cercar vs clicar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "cercar": e. Private to "clicar": il.
"cercar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "clicar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cercar" and "clicar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cercar" or "clicar" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cercar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cercar" and "clicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cercar vs cerda". 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 #30,799 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.