perguntavsperguntarConfusable pair

Quick tell: pergunta is a noun, perguntar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pergunta” is a noun and “perguntar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#657
“pergunta” frequency rank
#1,901
“perguntar” frequency rank
2558
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pergunta perguntar
Definition frase cujo objetivo é convidar um ouvinte ou leitor a dar uma explicação, uma informação, ou, em qualquer caso, uma interrogação que demanda, chama ou solicita uma resposta fazer uma pergunta a alguém; inquirir, interrogar

Letter map: pergunta vs perguntar

Shared letters muted; letters that set pergunta and perguntar apart highlighted. Shared run: 8. pergunta runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against perguntar's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
pergunta
9 ch
perguntar

Grammar separator: pergunta vs perguntar

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pergunta is anoun and perguntaraverb. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “pergunta” sits inside “perguntar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pergunta is recorded at frequency rank #657, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɨɾ.ˈɡũ.tɐ/. perguntar is at rank #1,901, tagged as averb.

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 2558, this pair ranks #72,795 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pergunta vs perguntar

Shared letters: aegnprtu. Private to "pergunta": -. Private to "perguntar": -.

"pergunta" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "perguntar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pergunta ← eprgunta · pegrunta · perggunta · pergnuta · pergunat · pergunnta · perguntta · pergutna
  • perguntar ← eprguntar · pegruntar · pergguntar · pergnutar · pergunatr · pergunntar · perguntarr · perguntra

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pergunta" and "perguntar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pergunta" is a noun and "perguntar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pergunta" or "perguntar"?
"pergunta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #657 in our Portuguese list, against #1,901 for "perguntar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "pergunta" and "perguntar".

  • Full dictionary entry for "pergunta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "perguntar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,795 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pergunta" and "perguntar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pergunta vs permuta". 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 #72,795 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list