Which to use
“dança” is a noun and “dançar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,462
- “dança” frequency rank
- #2,570
- “dançar” frequency rank
- 4032
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dança | dançar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | arte que consiste em movimentos do corpo, geralmente em sintonia com uma música | mover-se ritmadamente ao som de uma música |
Where the eye mixes dança and dançar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dança with dançar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dança is /ˈdɐ̃.sɐ/ while dançar is /dɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dança” sits inside “dançar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dança is recorded at frequency rank #1,462, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɐ̃.sɐ/. dançar is at rank #2,570, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɐ̃.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 4032, this pair ranks #70,997 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dança vs dançar
Shared letters: adnç. Private to "dança": -. Private to "dançar": r.
"dança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dançar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dança" and "dançar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dança" vs "dançar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dança" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dançar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,997 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dança" and "dançar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dança vs dara". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #70,997 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.