negavsnegarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,117
“nega” frequency rank
#4,257
“negar” frequency rank
9374
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nega negar
Definition terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo negar afirmar que algo não é verdadeiro ou que não existe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nega and negar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nega
5 ch
negar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nega (/ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/) and negar (/nɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) 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 extra letter(s) - “nega” sits inside “negar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nega is recorded at frequency rank #5,117, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/. negar is at rank #4,257, tagged as averb, pronounced /nɨ.ˈɡaɾ/.

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 9374, this pair ranks #64,086 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nega vs negar

Shared letters: aegn. Private to "nega": -. Private to "negar": r.

"nega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "negar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • negaenga · neag · negga · ngea · nnega
  • negarengar · neagr · negarr · neggar · ngear · nnegar

Frequency comparison

nega#5,117
negar#4,257

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nega" and "negar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/ versus /nɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nega" or "negar"?
"negar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,257 in our Portuguese list, against #5,117 for "nega". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nega vs negar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nega” 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