Which to use
“descartar” and “desgastar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,729
- “descartar” frequency rank
- #37,754
- “desgastar” frequency rank
- 54483
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descartar | desgastar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rejeitar uma carta num jogo | destruir pouco a pouco |
Where the eye mixes descartar and desgastar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between descartar and desgastar
A purely visual mix-up. descartar (/deʃ.kaχ.ˈtaχ/) and desgastar (/deʒ.gaʃ.ˈtax/, /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈta/) 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 54483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
descartar is recorded at frequency rank #16,729, classified as averb, pronounced /deʃ.kaχ.ˈtaχ/. desgastar is at rank #37,754, tagged as averb, pronounced /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈtax/, /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈta/.
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 54483, this pair ranks #11,223 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of descartar vs desgastar
Shared letters: aderst. Private to "descartar": c. Private to "desgastar": g.
"descartar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "desgastar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "descartar" for "desgastar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "descartar" or "desgastar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "descartar" and "desgastar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "descartar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desgastar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,223 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descartar" and "desgastar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degustar vs desgastar". 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 #11,223 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.