dobrarvsdomarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“dobrar” and “domar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,043
“dobrar” frequency rank
#41,959
“domar” frequency rank
54002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dobrar domar
Definition dar a alguma coisa uma forma semelhante à de uma curva; fazer inclinar amansar

Where the eye mixes dobrar and domar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dobrar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against domar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
dobrar
5 ch
domar

Look-alike desk: dobrar vs domar

A purely visual mix-up. dobrar (/doˈbɾa(ʁ)/ [doˈbɾa(h)]) and domar (/du.ˈmaɾ/) 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 54002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dobrar is recorded at frequency rank #12,043, classified as averb, pronounced /doˈbɾa(ʁ)/ [doˈbɾa(h)]. domar is at rank #41,959, tagged as averb, pronounced /du.ˈmaɾ/.

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 54002, this pair ranks #11,629 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dobrar vs domar

Shared letters: ador. Private to "dobrar": b. Private to "domar": m.

"dobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "domar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dobrar ← dborar · ddobrar · dobarr · dobbrar · dobrarr · dobrra · dobrrar · dorbar
  • domar ← ddomar · dmoar · doamr · domarr · dommar · domra · odmar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dobrar" and "domar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/doˈbɾa(ʁ)/ [doˈbɾa(h)] versus /du.ˈmaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dobrar" vs "domar" - which ranks higher?
"dobrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,043 in our Portuguese list, against #41,959 for "domar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "dobrar" and "domar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dobrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "domar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,629 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dobrar" and "domar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "domar vs domo". 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 #11,629 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list