descansar vs descansou, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#4,464
“descansar” frequency rank: #46,261
“descansou” frequency rank: 50725
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	descansar	descansou
Definition	proporcionar descanso a; livrar de fadiga:	terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo descansar.

Where the eye mixes descansar and descansou

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descansar (CVCCVCCVC) and descansou (CVCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch

descansar

9 ch

descansou

Visual trap between descansar and descansou

A purely visual mix-up. descansar (/dɨʃ.kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/) and descansou (/des.kɐ̃ˈsow/, /ʤɪs.kɐ̃ˈso/) 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 50725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descansar is recorded at frequency rank #4,464, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/. descansou is at rank #46,261, tagged as averb, pronounced /des.kɐ̃ˈsow/, /ʤɪs.kɐ̃ˈso/.

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 50725, this pair ranks #14,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of descansar vs descansou

Shared letters: acdens. Private to "descansar": r. Private to "descansou": ou.

"descansar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "descansou" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

descansar ← ddescansar · decsansar · desacnsar · descanasr · descannsar · descansarr · descansra · descanssar
descansou ← ddescansou · decsansou · desacnsou · descannsou · descanosu · descanssou · descansuo · descasnou

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "descansar" and "descansou" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/dɨʃ.kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/ versus /des.kɐ̃ˈsow/, /ʤɪs.kɐ̃ˈso/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Frequency check: "descansar" vs "descansou" - which ranks higher?

"descansar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,464 in our Portuguese list, against #46,261 for "descansou". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

Full dictionary entry for "descansar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "descansou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #14,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"descansar" and "descansou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descanso vs descansou". 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 #14,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.