Which to use
“declinar” and “desligar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,656
- “declinar” frequency rank
- #6,406
- “desligar” frequency rank
- 45062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | declinar | desligar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eximir-se a, desistir de, recusar (convites, encargos, etc.) | interromper um circuito elétrico |
Where the eye mixes declinar and desligar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. declinar and desligar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: declinar vs desligar
A purely visual mix-up. declinar (/dɨ.kli.ˈnaɾ/) and desligar (/dɨʒ.li.ˈɡaɾ/) 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 45062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
declinar is recorded at frequency rank #38,656, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.kli.ˈnaɾ/. desligar is at rank #6,406, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨʒ.li.ˈɡaɾ/.
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 45062, this pair ranks #20,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of declinar vs desligar
Shared letters: adeilr. Private to "declinar": cn. Private to "desligar": gs.
"declinar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "desligar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "declinar" for "desligar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "declinar" or "desligar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "declinar" and "desligar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "declinar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desligar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "declinar" and "desligar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "declinar vs delirar". 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 #20,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.