Which to use
“espalhar” and “espelhar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,417
- “espalhar” frequency rank
- #38,695
- “espelhar” frequency rank
- 44112
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espalhar | espelhar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | distribuir sobre uma superfície | refletir em um espelho |
Letter map: espalhar vs espelhar
Shared letters muted; letters that set espalhar and espelhar apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Pair insight - espalhar / espelhar
espalhar and espelhar are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - a in “espalhar” becomes e in “espelhar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espalhar is recorded at frequency rank #5,417, classified as averb. espelhar is at rank #38,695, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.pɨ.ˈʎaɾ/.
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 44112, this pair ranks #21,423 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espalhar vs espelhar
Shared letters: aehlprs. Private to "espalhar": -. Private to "espelhar": -.
"espalhar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "espelhar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espalhar" and "espelhar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "espalhar" or "espelhar" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "espalhar" and "espelhar". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "espalhar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espelhar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,423 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espalhar" and "espelhar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espelhar vs espetar". 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 #21,423 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.