exigentevsexistenteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,284
“exigente” frequency rank
#4,232
“existente” frequency rank
20516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exigente existente
Definition que exige que existe

Where the eye mixes exigente and existente

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

8 ch
exigente
9 ch
existente

Visual trap between exigente and existente

A purely visual mix-up. exigente (/i.zi.ˈʒẽ.tɨ/) and existente (/e.zis.ˈtẽ.ʧi/) 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 20516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

exigente is recorded at frequency rank #16,284, classified as anadj, pronounced /i.zi.ˈʒẽ.tɨ/. existente is at rank #4,232, tagged as anadj, pronounced /e.zis.ˈtẽ.ʧi/.

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 20516, this pair ranks #49,982 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of exigente vs existente

Shared letters: eintx. Private to "exigente": g. Private to "existente": s.

"exigente" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV  ·  "existente" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exigente ← eixgente · exgiente · exiegnte · exigenet · exigennte · exigentte · exigetne · exiggente
  • existente ← eixstente · exisetnte · exisstente · existenet · existennte · existentte · existetne · existnete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "exigente" for "existente" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/i.zi.ˈʒẽ.tɨ/ versus /e.zis.ˈtẽ.ʧi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "exigente" or "existente"?
"existente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,232 in our Portuguese list, against #16,284 for "exigente". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "exigente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "existente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #49,982 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "exigente" and "existente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exigente vs expoente". 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 #49,982 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