limitarvslimparTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,365
“limitar” frequency rank
#3,489
“limpar” frequency rank
12854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature limitar limpar
Definition pôr limites em; demarcar ato ou efeito de localizar, identificar, conter, remover e desfazer-se de forma adequada das substâncias indesejáveis (poluentes) de uma superfície ou ambiente

Where the eye mixes limitar and limpar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
limitar
6 ch
limpar

Visual trap between limitar and limpar

A purely visual mix-up. limitar (/li.mi.ˈtaɾ/) and limpar (/lĩ.ˈpaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

limitar is recorded at frequency rank #9,365, classified as averb, pronounced /li.mi.ˈtaɾ/. limpar is at rank #3,489, tagged as averb, pronounced /lĩ.ˈpaɾ/.

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 12854, this pair ranks #59,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of limitar vs limpar

Shared letters: ailmr. Private to "limitar": t. Private to "limpar": p.

"limitar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "limpar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • limitarilmitar · liimtar · limiatr · limitarr · limitra · limittar · limmitar · limtiar
  • limparilmpar · limapr · limmpar · limparr · limppar · limpra · lipmar · llimpar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "limitar" for "limpar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/li.mi.ˈtaɾ/ versus /lĩ.ˈpaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "limitar" or "limpar"?
"limpar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,489 in our Portuguese list, against #9,365 for "limitar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "limitar" and "limpar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "limitar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "limpar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #59,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "limitar" and "limpar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "limpar vs lipa". 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 #59,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list