ligarvslunarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ligar is a noun, lunar is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ligar” is a noun and “lunar” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,751
“ligar” frequency rank
#12,935
“lunar” frequency rank
14686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ligar lunar
Definition o mesmo que ligário relativo à Lua, da Lua

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
ligar
5 ch
lunar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ligar is /li.ˈgaχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?) while lunar is /lu.ˈnaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ligar is recorded at frequency rank #1,751, classified as anoun, pronounced /li.ˈgaχ/ ouvir ^(fonte ?). lunar is at rank #12,935, tagged as anadj, pronounced /lu.ˈnaɾ/.

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 14686, this pair ranks #57,330 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ligar vs lunar

Shared letters: alr. Private to "ligar": gi. Private to "lunar": nu.

"ligar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lunar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ligarilgar · lgiar · liagr · ligarr · liggar · ligra · lligar
  • lunarllunar · lnuar · luanr · lunarr · lunnar · lunra · ulnar

Frequency comparison

ligar#1,751
lunar#12,935

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ligar" and "lunar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ligar" is a noun and "lunar" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ligar" or "lunar"?
"ligar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,751 in our Portuguese list, against #12,935 for "lunar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ligar vs lunar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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