Which to use
“espia” and “estima” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,012
- “espia” frequency rank
- #3,260
- “estima” frequency rank
- 44272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espia | estima |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa que observa escondida | afeição que sentimos |
Where the eye mixes espia and estima
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between espia and estima
A purely visual mix-up. espia (/iʃ.ˈpi.ɐ/) and estima (/iʃ.ˈti.mɐ/) 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 44272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espia is recorded at frequency rank #41,012, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.ɐ/. estima is at rank #3,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈti.mɐ/.
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 44272, this pair ranks #21,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of espia vs estima
Shared letters: aeis. Private to "espia": p. Private to "estima": mt.
"espia" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "estima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espia" and "estima" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "espia" vs "estima" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "espia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "estima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espia" and "estima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espia 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 #21,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.