pesarvsprestarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#9,088
“pesar” frequency rank
#3,793
“prestar” frequency rank
12881
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pesar prestar
Definition condolência dedicar; dar com profunda afeição

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pesar and prestar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pesar
7 ch
prestar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pesar is anoun and prestaraverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pesar is recorded at frequency rank #9,088, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɨ.ˈzaɾ/. prestar is at rank #3,793, 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 12881, this pair ranks #59,585 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pesar vs prestar

Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "pesar": -. Private to "prestar": t.

"pesar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "prestar" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pesarepsar · peasr · pesarr · pessar · ppesar · psear
  • prestarperstar · pprestar · presatr · presstar · prestarr · prestra · presttar · pretsar

Frequency comparison

pesar#9,088
prestar#3,793

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pesar" and "prestar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pesar" is a noun and "prestar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pesar" or "prestar"?
"prestar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,793 in our Portuguese list, against #9,088 for "pesar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pesar vs prestar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list