Which to use
“falhar” and “faltar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,490
- “falhar” frequency rank
- #7,027
- “faltar” frequency rank
- 16517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | falhar | faltar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rachar | encontrar-se sem algo do que é preciso, haver falta de, não ter aquilo que é necessário |
Where the eye mixes falhar and faltar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses falhar with faltar
A purely visual mix-up. falhar (/fɐ.ˈʎaɾ/) and faltar (/faɫ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 a single letter - h in “falhar” becomes t in “faltar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
falhar is recorded at frequency rank #9,490, classified as averb, pronounced /fɐ.ˈʎaɾ/. faltar is at rank #7,027, tagged as averb, pronounced /faɫ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 16517, this pair ranks #54,987 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of falhar vs faltar
Shared letters: aflr. Private to "falhar": h. Private to "faltar": t.
"falhar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "faltar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "falhar" and "faltar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "falhar" or "faltar"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "falhar" and "faltar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "falhar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "faltar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #54,987 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "falhar" and "faltar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "falhar vs fartar". 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 #54,987 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.