Which to use
“esmagar” and “estragar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,167
- “esmagar” frequency rank
- #5,943
- “estragar” frequency rank
- 27110
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esmagar | estragar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | apertar ou pressionar com força de modo a destruir ou deformar | causar estrago em |
Where the eye mixes esmagar and estragar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. esmagar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against estragar's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between esmagar and estragar
A purely visual mix-up. esmagar (/iʒ.mɐ.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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esmagar is recorded at frequency rank #21,167, classified as averb, pronounced /iʒ.mɐ.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 27110, this pair ranks #41,907 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of esmagar vs estragar
Shared letters: aegrs. Private to "esmagar": m. Private to "estragar": t.
"esmagar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "estragar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "esmagar" and "estragar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "esmagar" or "estragar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "esmagar" 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 #41,907 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esmagar" and "estragar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esmagar vs estagiar". 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 #41,907 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.