Which to use
“forçado” is an adjective and “forçar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,007
- “forçado” frequency rank
- #6,423
- “forçar” frequency rank
- 11430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forçado | forçar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | obrigado | obrigar alguém a fazer algo que esta não queria fazer |
Where the eye mixes forçado and forçar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. forçado runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against forçar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses forçado with forçar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: forçado is /fuɾ.ˈsa.du/ while forçar is /fuɾ.ˈsaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
forçado is recorded at frequency rank #5,007, classified as anadj, pronounced /fuɾ.ˈsa.du/. forçar is at rank #6,423, tagged as averb, pronounced /fuɾ.ˈsaɾ/.
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 11430, this pair ranks #61,407 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of forçado vs forçar
Shared letters: aforç. Private to "forçado": d. Private to "forçar": -.
"forçado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "forçar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "forçado" for "forçar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "forçado" or "forçar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "forçado" and "forçar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "forçado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "forçar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,407 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forçado" and "forçar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fartar vs forçar". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #61,407 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.