par vs parir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“par” is an adjective and “parir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,060
“par” frequency rank: #38,846
“parir” frequency rank: 40906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	par	parir
Definition	diz-se dos números divisíveis por 2	a ação do parto; realizar o nascimento de uma nova vida gerada em um útero (nos animais vivíparos)

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

par

5 ch

parir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: par is /paχ/ while parir is /paˈɾi(ʁ)/ [paˈɾi(h)]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “par” sits inside “parir”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

par is recorded at frequency rank #2,060, classified as anadj, pronounced /paχ/. parir is at rank #38,846, tagged as averb, pronounced /paˈɾi(ʁ)/ [paˈɾi(h)].

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 40906, this pair ranks #25,115 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of par vs parir

Shared letters: apr. Private to "par": -. Private to "parir": i.

"par" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "parir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

parir ← aprir · pairr · parirr · parri · parrir · pparir · prair

Frequency comparison

par#2,060

parir#38,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "par" and "parir" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "par" is an adjective and "parir" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "par" or "parir"?

"par" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,060 in our Portuguese list, against #38,846 for "parir". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering par vs parir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “par”; for a verb, it's “parir”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “par” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable