Which to use
“esperar” and “espiar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #891
- “esperar” frequency rank
- #39,136
- “espiar” frequency rank
- 40027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esperar | espiar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ter esperança; aguardar com desejo e uma certa confiança de que algo vá se realizar | observar alguém ou algo esforçando-se para não ser visto |
Letter map: esperar vs espiar
Shared letters muted; letters that set esperar and espiar apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Pair insight - esperar / espiar
esperar and espiar 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esperar is recorded at frequency rank #891, classified as averb. 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 40027, this pair ranks #26,129 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of esperar vs espiar
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "esperar": -. Private to "espiar": i.
"esperar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "espiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "esperar" for "espiar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "esperar" vs "espiar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "esperar" vs "espiar" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "esperar" 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 #26,129 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esperar" 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 #26,129 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.