Which to use
“entregar” and “esfregar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,514
- “entregar” frequency rank
- #15,571
- “esfregar” frequency rank
- 18085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entregar | esfregar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | transportar algo até o destinatário desejado | sujeitar a superfície (de algo ou de uma pessoa) a pressão e fricção com o intuito de limpar, polir, massagear etc |
Where the eye mixes entregar and esfregar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. entregar and esfregar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses entregar with esfregar
A purely visual mix-up. entregar (/ẽ.tɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and esfregar (/iʃ.fɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) 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 18085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entregar is recorded at frequency rank #2,514, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.tɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. esfregar is at rank #15,571, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.fɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/.
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 18085, this pair ranks #52,979 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of entregar vs esfregar
Shared letters: aegr. Private to "entregar": nt. Private to "esfregar": fs.
"entregar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "esfregar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "entregar" and "esfregar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "entregar" or "esfregar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "entregar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esfregar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,979 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entregar" and "esfregar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esfregar vs esfriar". 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 #52,979 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.