estragarvsestrearWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,943
“estragar” frequency rank
#13,291
“estrear” frequency rank
19234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estragar estrear
Definition causar estrago em empregar, usar pela primeira vez

Where the eye mixes estragar and estrear

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. estragar runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against estrear's 7 (VCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
estragar
7 ch
estrear

Why the eye confuses estragar with estrear

A purely visual mix-up. estragar (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/) and estrear (/iʃ.ˈtɾjaɾ/) 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 19234, 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/. estrear is at rank #13,291, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.ˈtɾjaɾ/.

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 19234, this pair ranks #51,556 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of estragar vs estrear

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "estragar": g. Private to "estrear": -.

"estragar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "estrear" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estragaresrtagar · esstragar · estargar · estraagr · estragarr · estraggar · estragra · estrgaar
  • estrearesrtear · esstrear · esterar · estraer · estrearr · estrera · estrrear · esttrear

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estragar" and "estrear" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /iʃ.ˈtɾjaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "estragar" or "estrear"?
"estragar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,943 in our Portuguese list, against #13,291 for "estrear". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "estragar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estrear" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #51,556 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estragar" and "estrear" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estrear vs estressar". 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 #51,556 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