estar vs estimar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“estar” and “estimar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#186
“estar” frequency rank: #25,300
“estimar” frequency rank: 25486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	estar	estimar
Definition	associa uma característica (momentânea, não permanente) a um ser	ter afeição a

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set estar and estimar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

estar

7 ch

estimar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

estar and estimar 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estar is recorded at frequency rank #186, classified as averb. estimar is at rank #25,300, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.ti.ˈmaɾ/.

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 25486, this pair ranks #43,810 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estar vs estimar

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "estar": -. Private to "estimar": im.

"estar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "estimar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

estar ← esatr · esstar · estarr · estra · esttar · etsar · setar
estimar ← esitmar · esstimar · estiamr · estimarr · estimmar · estimra · estmiar · esttimar

Frequency comparison

estar#186

estimar#25,300

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estar" and "estimar" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "estar" or "estimar"?

"estar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #186 in our Portuguese list, against #25,300 for "estimar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering estar vs estimar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “estar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable