encolhervsescolherConfusable pair

Which to use

“encolher” and “escolher” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,704
“encolher” frequency rank
#1,310
“escolher” frequency rank
31014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encolher escolher
Definition reduzir, diminuir eleger

Where the eye mixes encolher and escolher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
encolher
8 ch
escolher

Visual trap between encolher and escolher

A purely visual mix-up. encolher (/ẽ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/) and escolher (/iʃ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/) 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 a single letter - n in “encolher” becomes s in “escolher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encolher is recorded at frequency rank #29,704, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/. escolher is at rank #1,310, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/.

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 31014, this pair ranks #37,206 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of encolher vs escolher

Shared letters: cehlor. Private to "encolher": n. Private to "escolher": s.

"encolher" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "escolher" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encolherecnolher · enccolher · encloher · encohler · encolehr · encolherr · encolhher · encolhre
  • escolherecsolher · esccolher · escloher · escohler · escolehr · escolherr · escolhher · escolhre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "encolher" for "escolher" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/ versus /iʃ.ku.ˈʎeɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "encolher" or "escolher"?
"escolher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,310 in our Portuguese list, against #29,704 for "encolher". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "encolher" and "escolher" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "encolher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "escolher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,206 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encolher" and "escolher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encher vs encolher". 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 #37,206 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list