Which to use
“encantar” and “engatar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,460
- “encantar” frequency rank
- #47,864
- “engatar” frequency rank
- 75324
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encantar | engatar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lançar encantamento ou magia sobre alguém; enfeitiçar alguém | prender com engates |
Where the eye mixes encantar and engatar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encantar runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against engatar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between encantar and engatar
A purely visual mix-up. encantar (/ẽ.kɐ̃.ˈtaɾ/) and engatar (/ẽ.ɡɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 75324, 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/. engatar is at rank #47,864, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽ.ɡɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 75324, this pair ranks #2,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of encantar vs engatar
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "encantar": c. Private to "engatar": g.
"encantar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "engatar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encantar" and "engatar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "encantar" or "engatar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "encantar" and "engatar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "encantar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "engatar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encantar" and "engatar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "engasgar 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 #2,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.