ferravsferrarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#40,575
“ferra” frequency rank
#11,270
“ferrar” frequency rank
51845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ferra ferrar
Definition a operação de ferrar o gado pôr ferraduras em

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ferra and ferrar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
ferra
6 ch
ferrar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ferra is anoun and ferraraverb. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ferra” sits inside “ferrar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ferra is recorded at frequency rank #40,575, classified as anoun. ferrar is at rank #11,270, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɨ.ˈRaɾ/.

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 51845, this pair ranks #13,260 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ferra vs ferrar

Shared letters: aefr. Private to "ferra": -. Private to "ferrar": -.

"ferra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "ferrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ferraefrra · fferra · frera
  • ferrarefrrar · ferar · ferarr · ferrarr · ferrra · fferrar · frerar

Frequency comparison

ferra#40,575
ferrar#11,270

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ferra" and "ferrar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ferra" is a noun and "ferrar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ferra" or "ferrar"?
"ferrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,270 in our Portuguese list, against #40,575 for "ferra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ferra vs ferrar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ferra”; for a verb, it's “ferrar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ferra” 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