Which to use
“encantar” and “enganar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,460
- “encantar” frequency rank
- #5,939
- “enganar” frequency rank
- 33399
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encantar | enganar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lançar encantamento ou magia sobre alguém; enfeitiçar alguém | levar intencionalmente ao erro |
Where the eye mixes encantar and enganar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encantar runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against enganar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses encantar with enganar
A purely visual mix-up. encantar (/ẽ.kɐ̃.ˈtaɾ/) and enganar (/ẽ.ɡɐ.ˈnaɾ/) 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 33399, 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/. enganar is at rank #5,939, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽ.ɡɐ.ˈnaɾ/.
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 33399, this pair ranks #34,142 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encantar vs enganar
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "encantar": ct. Private to "enganar": g.
"encantar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "enganar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encantar" and "enganar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "encantar" or "enganar"?
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 "enganar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,142 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encantar" and "enganar" 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 #34,142 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.