Which to use
“encerrar” and “encurtar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,648
- “encerrar” frequency rank
- #27,462
- “encurtar” frequency rank
- 34110
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encerrar | encurtar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | conter, concluir, terminar | tornar curto |
Where the eye mixes encerrar and encurtar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encerrar and encurtar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: encerrar vs encurtar
A purely visual mix-up. encerrar (/ẽj.se.ˈxaɾ/) and encurtar (/ẽ.kuɾ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 34110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encerrar is recorded at frequency rank #6,648, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽj.se.ˈxaɾ/. encurtar is at rank #27,462, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽ.kuɾ.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 34110, this pair ranks #33,243 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encerrar vs encurtar
Shared letters: acenr. Private to "encerrar": -. Private to "encurtar": tu.
"encerrar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "encurtar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "encerrar" and "encurtar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "encerrar" or "encurtar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "encerrar" and "encurtar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "encerrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encurtar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,243 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encerrar" and "encurtar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encantar vs encurtar". 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 #33,243 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.