Which to use
“encarar” and “encerrar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,527
- “encarar” frequency rank
- #6,648
- “encerrar” frequency rank
- 12175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encarar | encerrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | olhar de frente e fixamente; fitar | conter, concluir, terminar |
Where the eye mixes encarar and encerrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encarar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against encerrar's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between encarar and encerrar
A purely visual mix-up. encarar (/ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) and encerrar (/ẽj.se.ˈxaɾ/) 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 12175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encarar is recorded at frequency rank #5,527, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/. encerrar is at rank #6,648, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽj.se.ˈxaɾ/.
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 12175, this pair ranks #60,499 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of encarar vs encerrar
Shared letters: acenr. Private to "encarar": -. Private to "encerrar": -.
"encarar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "encerrar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encarar" for "encerrar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "encarar" vs "encerrar" - which ranks higher?
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 "encarar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encerrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,499 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encarar" and "encerrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encarar 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 #60,499 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.