pescarvspisarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,884
“pescar” frequency rank
#11,125
“pisar” frequency rank
27009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pescar pisar
Definition apanhar na água (o peixe ou outro animal aquático) colocar os pés sobre

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
pescar
5 ch
pisar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pescar (/pesˈka(ʁ)/ [pesˈka(h)]) and pisar (/pi.ˈzaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pescar is recorded at frequency rank #15,884, classified as averb, pronounced /pesˈka(ʁ)/ [pesˈka(h)]. pisar is at rank #11,125, tagged as averb, pronounced /pi.ˈzaɾ/.

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 27009, this pair ranks #42,037 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pescar vs pisar

Shared letters: aprs. Private to "pescar": ce. Private to "pisar": i.

"pescar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "pisar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pescarepscar · pecsar · pesacr · pescarr · pesccar · pescra · pesscar · ppescar
  • pisaripsar · piasr · pisarr · pisra · pissar · ppisar · psiar

Frequency comparison

pescar#15,884
pisar#11,125

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pescar" and "pisar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pesˈka(ʁ)/ [pesˈka(h)] versus /pi.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pescar" or "pisar"?
"pisar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,125 in our Portuguese list, against #15,884 for "pescar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pescar vs pisar

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 “pescar” 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