encantarvsencararWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,460
“encantar” frequency rank
#5,527
“encarar” frequency rank
32987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encantar encarar
Definition lançar encantamento ou magia sobre alguém; enfeitiçar alguém olhar de frente e fixamente; fitar

Where the eye mixes encantar and encarar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encantar runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against encarar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
encantar
7 ch
encarar

Visual trap between encantar and encarar

A purely visual mix-up. encantar (/ẽ.kɐ̃.ˈtaɾ/) and encarar (/ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 32987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encantar is recorded at frequency rank #27,460, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.kɐ̃.ˈtaɾ/. encarar is at rank #5,527, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 32987, this pair ranks #34,652 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of encantar vs encarar

Shared letters: acenr. Private to "encantar": t. Private to "encarar": -.

"encantar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "encarar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encantarecnantar · enacntar · encanatr · encanntar · encantarr · encantra · encanttar · encatnar
  • encararecnarar · enacrar · encaarr · encararr · encarra · encarrar · enccarar · encraar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "encantar" for "encarar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.kɐ̃.ˈtaɾ/ versus /ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "encantar" vs "encarar" - which ranks higher?
"encarar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,527 in our Portuguese list, against #27,460 for "encantar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "encantar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "encarar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #34,652 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encantar" and "encarar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encantar vs engatar". 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 #34,652 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