chamar vs chupar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#884
“chamar” frequency rank: #11,602
“chupar” frequency rank: 12486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	chamar	chupar
Definition	solicitar a atenção ou a aproximação de alguém ou de algum animal (com palavras ou sinais)	sorver, sugar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chamar and chupar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

chamar

6 ch

chupar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chamar (/ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ/) and chupar (/ʃuˈpaɾ/) 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 12486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chamar is recorded at frequency rank #884, classified as averb, pronounced /ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ/. chupar is at rank #11,602, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃuˈpaɾ/.

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 12486, this pair ranks #60,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chamar vs chupar

Shared letters: achr. Private to "chamar": m. Private to "chupar": pu.

"chamar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chupar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

chamar ← cahmar · cchamar · chaamr · chamarr · chammar · chamra · chhamar · chmaar
chupar ← cchupar · chhupar · chpuar · chuapr · chuparr · chuppar · chupra · cuhpar

Frequency comparison

chamar#884

chupar#11,602

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chamar" and "chupar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ/ versus /ʃuˈpaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "chamar" or "chupar"?

"chamar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #884 in our Portuguese list, against #11,602 for "chupar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering chamar vs chupar

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 “chamar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable