pesarvspulsarWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#9,088
“pesar” frequency rank
#31,930
“pulsar” frequency rank
41018
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pesar pulsar
Definition condolência impelir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pesar and pulsar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pesar
6 ch
pulsar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pesar is /pɨ.ˈzaɾ/ while pulsar is /puɫ.ˈsaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41018, 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/. pulsar is at rank #31,930, tagged as averb, pronounced /puɫ.ˈsaɾ/.

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 41018, this pair ranks #25,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pesar vs pulsar

Shared letters: aprs. Private to "pesar": e. Private to "pulsar": lu.

"pesar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pulsar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pesarepsar · peasr · pesarr · pessar · ppesar · psear
  • pulsarplusar · ppulsar · pulasr · pullsar · pulsarr · pulsra · pulssar · puslar

Frequency comparison

pesar#9,088
pulsar#31,930

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pesar" and "pulsar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pesar" is a noun and "pulsar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pesar" or "pulsar"?
"pesar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,088 in our Portuguese list, against #31,930 for "pulsar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pesar vs pulsar

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 “pulsar”.
  • 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