Which to use
“descansar” and “descartar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,464
- “descansar” frequency rank
- #16,729
- “descartar” frequency rank
- 21193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descansar | descartar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | proporcionar descanso a; livrar de fadiga: | rejeitar uma carta num jogo |
Where the eye mixes descansar and descartar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descansar and descartar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses descansar with descartar
A purely visual mix-up. descansar (/dɨʃ.kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/) and descartar (/deʃ.kaχ.ˈtaχ/) 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 21193, 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/. descartar is at rank #16,729, tagged as averb, pronounced /deʃ.kaχ.ˈtaχ/.
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 21193, this pair ranks #49,145 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of descansar vs descartar
Shared letters: acders. Private to "descansar": n. Private to "descartar": t.
"descansar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "descartar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "descansar" for "descartar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "descansar" or "descartar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "descansar" and "descartar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "descansar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "descartar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,145 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descansar" and "descartar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desatar vs descartar". 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 #49,145 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.