Which to use
“esfregar” and “estragar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,571
- “esfregar” frequency rank
- #5,943
- “estragar” frequency rank
- 21514
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esfregar | estragar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sujeitar a superfície (de algo ou de uma pessoa) a pressão e fricção com o intuito de limpar, polir, massagear etc | causar estrago em |
Where the eye mixes esfregar and estragar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. esfregar and estragar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: esfregar vs estragar
A purely visual mix-up. esfregar (/iʃ.fɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and estragar (/iʃ.tɾɐ.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 21514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esfregar is recorded at frequency rank #15,571, classified as averb, pronounced /iʃ.fɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. estragar is at rank #5,943, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.tɾɐ.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 21514, this pair ranks #48,719 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of esfregar vs estragar
Shared letters: aegrs. Private to "esfregar": f. Private to "estragar": t.
"esfregar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "estragar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "esfregar" and "estragar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "esfregar" vs "estragar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "esfregar" and "estragar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "esfregar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estragar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,719 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esfregar" and "estragar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estagiar vs estragar". 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 #48,719 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.