Which to use
“despejar” and “desprezar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,294
- “despejar” frequency rank
- #23,971
- “desprezar” frequency rank
- 47265
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despejar | desprezar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jogar fora (um líquido, por exemplo) de seu recipiente | ter sentimento de desprezo em relação a alguém |
Where the eye mixes despejar and desprezar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. despejar runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against desprezar's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: despejar vs desprezar
A purely visual mix-up. despejar (/dɨʃ.pɨ.ˈʒaɾ/) and desprezar (/dɨʃ.pɾɨ.ˈzaɾ/) 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 47265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despejar is recorded at frequency rank #23,294, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.pɨ.ˈʒaɾ/. desprezar is at rank #23,971, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.pɾɨ.ˈzaɾ/.
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 47265, this pair ranks #17,994 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of despejar vs desprezar
Shared letters: adeprs. Private to "despejar": j. Private to "desprezar": z.
"despejar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "desprezar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "despejar" for "desprezar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "despejar" vs "desprezar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "despejar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desprezar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,994 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despejar" and "desprezar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despejada vs despejar". 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 #17,994 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.