Which to use
“começar” and “cometer” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #501
- “começar” frequency rank
- #5,286
- “cometer” frequency rank
- 5787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | começar | cometer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dar início a alguma coisa | praticar |
Where the eye mixes começar and cometer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between começar and cometer
A purely visual mix-up. começar (/ku.mɨ.ˈsaɾ/) and cometer (/ku.mɨ.ˈteɾ/) 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 5787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
começar is recorded at frequency rank #501, classified as averb, pronounced /ku.mɨ.ˈsaɾ/. cometer is at rank #5,286, tagged as averb, pronounced /ku.mɨ.ˈteɾ/.
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 5787, this pair ranks #68,754 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of começar vs cometer
Shared letters: cemor. Private to "começar": aç. Private to "cometer": t.
"começar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "cometer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cometer ← ccometer · cmoeter · coemter · comeetr · cometerr · cometre · cometter · commeter
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "começar" and "cometer" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "começar" vs "cometer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "começar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cometer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,754 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "começar" and "cometer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cateter vs cometer". 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 #68,754 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.