Which to use
“parar” and “pastar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #656
- “parar” frequency rank
- #48,580
- “pastar” frequency rank
- 49236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parar | pastar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | interromper um movimento ou uma ação | comer a erva de |
Where the eye mixes parar and pastar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. parar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pastar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses parar with pastar
A purely visual mix-up. parar (/pɐ.ˈɾaɾ/, /pɐ.ˈɾa/) and pastar (/pɐʃ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 49236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parar is recorded at frequency rank #656, classified as averb, pronounced /pɐ.ˈɾaɾ/, /pɐ.ˈɾa/. pastar is at rank #48,580, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɐʃ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 49236, this pair ranks #15,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of parar vs pastar
Shared letters: apr. Private to "parar": -. Private to "pastar": st.
"parar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pastar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "parar" and "pastar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "parar" or "pastar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "parar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pastar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parar" and "pastar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pastar vs pasteur". 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 #15,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.