jocavsjogarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,227
“joca” frequency rank
#918
“jogar” frequency rank
33145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature joca jogar
Definition quem não tem disposição fazer apostas em jogo

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
joca
5 ch
jogar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: joca is anoun and jogaraverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

joca is recorded at frequency rank #32,227, classified as anoun. jogar is at rank #918, tagged as averb.

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 33145, this pair ranks #34,452 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of joca vs jogar

Shared letters: ajo. Private to "joca": c. Private to "jogar": gr.

"joca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "jogar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jocajcoa · jjoca · joac · jocca · ojca
  • jogarjgoar · jjogar · joagr · jogarr · joggar · jogra · ojgar

Frequency comparison

joca#32,227
jogar#918

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "joca" and "jogar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "joca" is a noun and "jogar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "joca" or "jogar"?
"jogar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #918 in our Portuguese list, against #32,227 for "joca". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering joca vs jogar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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