fugirvsfurarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,427
“fugir” frequency rank
#14,378
“furar” frequency rank
16805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fugir furar
Definition retirar-se abrir furo, buraco ou rombo em; cavar

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
fugir
5 ch
furar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fugir (/fu.ˈʒiɾ/) and furar (/fu.ˈɾaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fugir is recorded at frequency rank #2,427, classified as averb, pronounced /fu.ˈʒiɾ/. furar is at rank #14,378, tagged as averb, pronounced /fu.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 16805, this pair ranks #54,637 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fugir vs furar

Shared letters: fru. Private to "fugir": gi. Private to "furar": a.

"fugir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "furar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fugirffugir · fguir · fuggir · fugirr · fugri · fuigr · ufgir
  • furarffurar · fruar · fuarr · furarr · furra · furrar · ufrar

Frequency comparison

fugir#2,427
furar#14,378

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fugir" and "furar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/fu.ˈʒiɾ/ versus /fu.ˈɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fugir" or "furar"?
"fugir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,427 in our Portuguese list, against #14,378 for "furar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fugir vs furar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fugir” 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