Which to use
“parar” and “pecar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #656
- “parar” frequency rank
- #32,725
- “pecar” frequency rank
- 33381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parar | pecar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | interromper um movimento ou uma ação | cometer pecado |
Where the eye mixes parar and pecar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. parar and pecar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: parar vs pecar
A purely visual mix-up. parar (/pɐ.ˈɾaɾ/, /pɐ.ˈɾa/) and pecar (/pɨ.ˈkaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33381, 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/. pecar is at rank #32,725, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɨ.ˈkaɾ/.
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 33381, this pair ranks #34,168 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of parar vs pecar
Shared letters: apr. Private to "parar": -. Private to "pecar": ce.
"parar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pecar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "parar" and "pecar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "parar" vs "pecar" - which ranks higher?
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 "pecar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,168 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parar" and "pecar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacas vs pecar". 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 #34,168 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.