Which to use
“legitimar” is a verb and “legítimo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,257
- “legitimar” frequency rank
- #8,355
- “legítimo” frequency rank
- 36612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legitimar | legítimo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar legítimo | de acordo com a lei; legal |
Letter map: legitimar vs legítimo
Shared letters muted; letters that set legitimar and legítimo apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. legitimar runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against legítimo's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: legitimar vs legítimo
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: legitimar is averb and legítimoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
legitimar is recorded at frequency rank #28,257, classified as averb, pronounced /lɨ.ʒi.ti.ˈmaɾ/. legítimo is at rank #8,355, tagged as anadj.
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 36612, this pair ranks #30,143 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of legitimar vs legítimo
Shared letters: egilmt. Private to "legitimar": ar. Private to "legítimo": oí.
"legitimar" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "legítimo" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- legitimar ← elgitimar · leggitimar · legiitmar · legitiamr · legitimarr · legitimmar · legitimra · legitmiar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "legitimar" for "legítimo" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "legitimar" or "legítimo" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "legitimar" and "legítimo".
- Full dictionary entry for "legitimar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "legítimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,143 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legitimar" and "legítimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "legitimado vs legitimar". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #30,143 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.