embargovsencargoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,696
“embargo” frequency rank
#27,847
“encargo” frequency rank
47543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature embargo encargo
Definition recurso judicial para impedir a execução de uma sentença até que seja feita uma revisão do julgamento obrigação

Where the eye mixes embargo and encargo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
embargo
7 ch
encargo

Why the eye confuses embargo with encargo

A purely visual mix-up. embargo (/ẽ.ˈbaɾ.ɡu/) and encargo (/ẽ.ˈkaɾ.ɡu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

embargo is recorded at frequency rank #19,696, classified as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈbaɾ.ɡu/. encargo is at rank #27,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈkaɾ.ɡu/.

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 47543, this pair ranks #17,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of embargo vs encargo

Shared letters: aegor. Private to "embargo": bm. Private to "encargo": cn.

"embargo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "encargo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • embargoebmargo · emabrgo · embagro · embarggo · embarog · embarrgo · embbargo · embrago
  • encargoecnargo · enacrgo · encagro · encarggo · encarog · encarrgo · enccargo · encrago

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "embargo" and "encargo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.ˈbaɾ.ɡu/ versus /ẽ.ˈkaɾ.ɡu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "embargo" vs "encargo" - which ranks higher?
"embargo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,696 in our Portuguese list, against #27,847 for "encargo". 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 "embargo" and "encargo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "embargo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "encargo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #17,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "embargo" and "encargo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encalço vs encargo". 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 #17,693 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