Which to use
“desapontar” and “descontar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,862
- “desapontar” frequency rank
- #22,272
- “descontar” frequency rank
- 71134
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desapontar | descontar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | causar desapontamento a | fazer desconto |
Where the eye mixes desapontar and descontar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. desapontar runs 10 letters (CVCVCVCCVC) against descontar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between desapontar and descontar
A purely visual mix-up. desapontar (/dɨ.zɐ.põ.ˈtaɾ/) and descontar (/dɨʃ.kõ.ˈtaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desapontar is recorded at frequency rank #48,862, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.zɐ.põ.ˈtaɾ/. descontar is at rank #22,272, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.kõ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 71134, this pair ranks #3,441 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of desapontar vs descontar
Shared letters: adenorst. Private to "desapontar": p. Private to "descontar": c.
"desapontar" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC · "descontar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desapontar ← ddesapontar · deaspontar · desaopntar · desapnotar · desaponatr · desaponntar · desapontarr · desapontra
- descontar ← ddescontar · decsontar · desccontar · descnotar · desconatr · desconntar · descontarr · descontra
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "desapontar" and "descontar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "desapontar" or "descontar"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "desapontar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "descontar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,441 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desapontar" and "descontar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desapontar vs despontar". 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 #3,441 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.