enfiarvsentrarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,484
“enfiar” frequency rank
#519
“entrar” frequency rank
10003
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enfiar entrar
Definition introduzir num orifício passar para dentro

Where the eye mixes enfiar and entrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. enfiar (VCCVVC) and entrar (VCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
enfiar
6 ch
entrar

Why the eye confuses enfiar with entrar

A purely visual mix-up. enfiar (/ẽ.ˈfjaɾ/) and entrar (/ẽ.ˈtɾaχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?)) 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 10003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enfiar is recorded at frequency rank #9,484, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.ˈfjaɾ/. entrar is at rank #519, tagged as averb, pronounced /ẽ.ˈtɾaχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?).

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 10003, this pair ranks #63,233 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of enfiar vs entrar

Shared letters: aenr. Private to "enfiar": fi. Private to "entrar": t.

"enfiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC  ·  "entrar" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enfiarefniar · enfair · enffiar · enfiarr · enfira · enifar · ennfiar · nefiar
  • entrarenntrar · enrtar · entarr · entrarr · entrra · entrrar · enttrar · etnrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "enfiar" for "entrar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.ˈfjaɾ/ versus /ẽ.ˈtɾaχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?)) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enfiar" or "entrar"?
"entrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #519 in our Portuguese list, against #9,484 for "enfiar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "enfiar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,233 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enfiar" and "entrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enfiar vs enjoar". 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 #63,233 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