Which to use
“desejar” and “desenhar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,892
- “desejar” frequency rank
- #5,842
- “desenhar” frequency rank
- 9734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desejar | desenhar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | querer realizar algo | representar algo em uma superfície por meio de traços, linhas, sombras, manchas e etc; fazer o desenho de |
Where the eye mixes desejar and desenhar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. desejar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against desenhar's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: desejar vs desenhar
A purely visual mix-up. desejar (/dɨ.zɨ.ˈʒaɾ/) and desenhar (/dɨ.zɨ.ˈɲaɾ/) 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 9734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desejar is recorded at frequency rank #3,892, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.zɨ.ˈʒaɾ/. desenhar is at rank #5,842, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.zɨ.ˈɲaɾ/.
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 9734, this pair ranks #63,595 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of desejar vs desenhar
Shared letters: aders. Private to "desejar": j. Private to "desenhar": hn.
"desejar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "desenhar" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desejar" for "desenhar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "desejar" or "desenhar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "desejar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desenhar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,595 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desejar" and "desenhar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desatar vs desejar". 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 #63,595 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.