estragarvsestranharWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,943
“estragar” frequency rank
#24,971
“estranhar” frequency rank
30914
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estragar estranhar
Definition causar estrago em achar estranho

Where the eye mixes estragar and estranhar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. estragar runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against estranhar's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
estragar
9 ch
estranhar

Look-alike desk: estragar vs estranhar

A purely visual mix-up. estragar (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/) and estranhar (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɲaɾ/) 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 30914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estragar is recorded at frequency rank #5,943, classified as averb, pronounced /iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/. estranhar is at rank #24,971, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɲaɾ/.

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 30914, this pair ranks #37,313 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estragar vs estranhar

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "estragar": g. Private to "estranhar": hn.

"estragar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "estranhar" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estragaresrtagar · esstragar · estargar · estraagr · estragarr · estraggar · estragra · estrgaar
  • estranharesrtanhar · esstranhar · estarnhar · estrahnar · estranahr · estranharr · estranhhar · estranhra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "estragar" and "estranhar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɲaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "estragar" vs "estranhar" - which ranks higher?
"estragar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,943 in our Portuguese list, against #24,971 for "estranhar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "estragar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estranhar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,313 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estragar" and "estranhar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estancar vs estranhar". 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 #37,313 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list