Which to use
“dispensa” is a noun and “dispensar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,061
- “dispensa” frequency rank
- #19,125
- “dispensar” frequency rank
- 32186
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dispensa | dispensar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de dispensar | conceder dispensa a |
Where the eye mixes dispensa and dispensar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. dispensa runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against dispensar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between dispensa and dispensar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dispensa is /diʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐ/ while dispensar is /diʃ.pẽ.ˈsaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dispensa” sits inside “dispensar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dispensa is recorded at frequency rank #13,061, classified as anoun, pronounced /diʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐ/. dispensar is at rank #19,125, tagged as averb, pronounced /diʃ.pẽ.ˈsaɾ/.
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 32186, this pair ranks #35,706 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dispensa vs dispensar
Shared letters: adeinps. Private to "dispensa": -. Private to "dispensar": r.
"dispensa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "dispensar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dispensa" and "dispensar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dispensa" vs "dispensar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dispensa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dispensar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,706 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dispensa" and "dispensar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dispensar vs distensão". 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 #35,706 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.