pegar vs pirar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#744
“pegar” frequency rank: #24,423
“pirar” frequency rank: 25167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pegar	pirar
Definition	fazer aderir	endoidar

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

pegar

5 ch

pirar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pegar (/pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and pirar (/pi.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 25167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pegar is recorded at frequency rank #744, classified as averb, pronounced /pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. pirar is at rank #24,423, tagged as averb, pronounced /pi.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 25167, this pair ranks #44,217 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pegar vs pirar

Shared letters: apr. Private to "pegar": eg. Private to "pirar": i.

"pegar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pirar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

pegar ← epgar · peagr · pegarr · peggar · pegra · pgear · ppegar
pirar ← iprar · piarr · pirarr · pirrar · ppirar · priar

Frequency comparison

pegar#744

pirar#24,423

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pegar" and "pirar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/pɨ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /pi.ˈɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "pegar" or "pirar"?

"pegar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #744 in our Portuguese list, against #24,423 for "pirar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pegar vs pirar

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 “pegar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable