Which to use
“encarar” and “escavar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,527
- “encarar” frequency rank
- #24,966
- “escavar” frequency rank
- 30493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encarar | escavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | olhar de frente e fixamente; fitar | tornar vazio pela remoção do que há dentro; fazer um buraco ou cavidade em; realizar uma escavação |
Where the eye mixes encarar and escavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between encarar and escavar
A purely visual mix-up. encarar (/ẽ.kɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) and escavar (/iʃ.kɐ.ˈvaɾ/) 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 30493, 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/. escavar is at rank #24,966, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.kɐ.ˈvaɾ/.
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 30493, this pair ranks #37,840 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encarar vs escavar
Shared letters: acer. Private to "encarar": n. Private to "escavar": sv.
"encarar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "escavar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encarar" for "escavar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "encarar" vs "escavar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "encarar" and "escavar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "encarar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "escavar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,840 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encarar" and "escavar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escavar vs escoar". 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 #37,840 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.