Which to use
“enfiar” and “espiar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,484
- “enfiar” frequency rank
- #39,136
- “espiar” frequency rank
- 48620
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enfiar | espiar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | introduzir num orifício | observar alguém ou algo esforçando-se para não ser visto |
Where the eye mixes enfiar and espiar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. enfiar and espiar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between enfiar and espiar
A purely visual mix-up. enfiar (/ẽ.ˈfjaɾ/) and espiar (/iʃ.ˈpjaɾ/) 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 48620, 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/. espiar is at rank #39,136, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpjaɾ/.
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 48620, this pair ranks #16,546 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of enfiar vs espiar
Shared letters: aeir. Private to "enfiar": fn. Private to "espiar": ps.
"enfiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "espiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enfiar" for "espiar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "enfiar" vs "espiar" - which ranks higher?
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 "espiar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,546 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enfiar" and "espiar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espiar vs espinal". 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 #16,546 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.