Which to use
“elixir” is a noun and “exibir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,933
- “elixir” frequency rank
- #7,766
- “exibir” frequency rank
- 38699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | elixir | exibir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | preparado farmacêutico composto de várias substâncias dissolvidas em álcool | mostrar |
Where the eye mixes elixir and exibir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses elixir with exibir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: elixir is /i.li.ˈʃiɾ/ while exibir is /i.zi.ˈbiɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
elixir is recorded at frequency rank #30,933, classified as anoun, pronounced /i.li.ˈʃiɾ/. exibir is at rank #7,766, tagged as averb, pronounced /i.zi.ˈbiɾ/.
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 38699, this pair ranks #27,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of elixir vs exibir
Shared letters: eirx. Private to "elixir": l. Private to "exibir": b.
"elixir" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "exibir" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "elixir" and "exibir" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "elixir" or "exibir" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "elixir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exibir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "elixir" and "exibir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exibir vs exímio". 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 #27,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.