Which to use
“devagar” is an adverb and “devastar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,520
- “devagar” frequency rank
- #47,300
- “devastar” frequency rank
- 52820
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devagar | devastar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | em baixa velocidade | arruinar, assolar |
Where the eye mixes devagar and devastar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devagar with devastar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: devagar is /de.va.ˈgaɹ/ while devastar is /dɨ.vɐʃ.ˈtaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devagar is recorded at frequency rank #5,520, classified as anadv, pronounced /de.va.ˈgaɹ/. devastar is at rank #47,300, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.vɐʃ.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 52820, this pair ranks #12,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of devagar vs devastar
Shared letters: aderv. Private to "devagar": g. Private to "devastar": st.
"devagar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "devastar" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "devagar" and "devastar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "devagar" or "devastar"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "devagar" and "devastar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "devagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devastar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devagar" and "devastar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degustar vs devastar". 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 #12,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.