Which to use
“descolar” and “descontar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,325
- “descolar” frequency rank
- #22,272
- “descontar” frequency rank
- 53597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descolar | descontar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | despegar, desunir o que estava colado | fazer desconto |
Where the eye mixes descolar and descontar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descolar runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against descontar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses descolar with descontar
A purely visual mix-up. descolar (/dɨʃ.ku.ˈlaɾ/) 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 53597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
descolar is recorded at frequency rank #31,325, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.ku.ˈlaɾ/. 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 53597, this pair ranks #11,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of descolar vs descontar
Shared letters: acdeors. Private to "descolar": l. Private to "descontar": nt.
"descolar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "descontar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "descolar" and "descontar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "descolar" or "descontar"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "descolar" 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 #11,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descolar" and "descontar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desapontar vs descontar". 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 #11,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.