falirvsfaltaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: falir is a verb, falta is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

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

#27,479
“falir” frequency rank
#335
“falta” frequency rank
27814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature falir falta
Definition ir à falência, não ter como cumprir com suas obrigações financeiras transgressão das regras de um jogo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set falir and falta apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
falir
5 ch
falta

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: falir is averb and faltaanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

falir is recorded at frequency rank #27,479, classified as averb. falta is at rank #335, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfaɫ.tɐ/.

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 27814, this pair ranks #41,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of falir vs falta

Shared letters: afl. Private to "falir": ir. Private to "falta": t.

"falir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "falta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • falir ← aflir · failr · falirr · fallir · falri · ffalir · flair
  • falta ← aflta · falat · fallta · faltta · fatla · ffalta · flata

Frequency comparison

falir#27,479
falta#335

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "falir" and "falta" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "falir" is a verb and "falta" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "falir" or "falta"?
"falta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #335 in our Portuguese list, against #27,479 for "falir". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering falir vs falta

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list