mendigarvsmendigoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#48,539
“mendigar” frequency rank
#14,185
“mendigo” frequency rank
62724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mendigar mendigo
Definition pedir por esmola aquele que vive de pedir esmolas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mendigar and mendigo apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
mendigar
7 ch
mendigo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mendigar is /mẽ.di.ˈɡaɾ/ while mendigo is /mẽ.ˈʤi.gu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mendigar is recorded at frequency rank #48,539, classified as averb, pronounced /mẽ.di.ˈɡaɾ/. mendigo is at rank #14,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mẽ.ˈʤi.gu/.

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 62724, this pair ranks #6,520 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mendigar vs mendigo

Shared letters: degimn. Private to "mendigar": ar. Private to "mendigo": o.

"mendigar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "mendigo" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mendigaremndigar · mednigar · menddigar · mendgiar · mendiagr · mendigarr · mendiggar · mendigra
  • mendigoemndigo · mednigo · menddigo · mendgio · mendiggo · mendiog · menidgo · menndigo

Frequency comparison

mendigar#48,539
mendigo#14,185

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mendigar" and "mendigo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mendigar" is a verb and "mendigo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mendigar" or "mendigo"?
"mendigo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,185 in our Portuguese list, against #48,539 for "mendigar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mendigar vs mendigo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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