estima vs estimar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“estima” is a noun and “estimar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,260
“estima” frequency rank: #25,300
“estimar” frequency rank: 28560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	estima	estimar
Definition	afeição que sentimos	ter afeição a

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set estima and estimar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

estima

7 ch

estimar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: estima is /iʃ.ˈti.mɐ/ while estimar is /iʃ.ti.ˈmaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “estima” sits inside “estimar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estima is recorded at frequency rank #3,260, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈti.mɐ/. 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 28560, this pair ranks #40,257 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estima vs estimar

Shared letters: aeimst. Private to "estima": -. Private to "estimar": r.

"estima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "estimar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

estima ← esitma · esstima · estiam · estimma · estmia · esttima · etsima · setima
estimar ← esitmar · esstimar · estiamr · estimarr · estimmar · estimra · estmiar · esttimar

Frequency comparison

estima#3,260

estimar#25,300

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "estima" is a noun and "estimar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

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

"estima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,260 in our Portuguese list, against #25,300 for "estimar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering estima vs estimar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “estima”; for a verb, it's “estimar”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “estima” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable