piãovspilarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,727
“pião” frequency rank
#8,938
“pilar” frequency rank
44665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pião pilar
Definition brinquedo que consiste em puxar uma corda enrolada a um objeto afunilado, geralmente de madeira ou plástico e com uma ponta de ferro, colocando-o em rotação no solo, mantendo-se erguido coluna de sustentação de edifício ou estrutura; esteio, escora, suporte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pião and pilar apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
pião
5 ch
pilar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

pião and pilar are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pião is recorded at frequency rank #35,727, classified as anoun. pilar is at rank #8,938, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈlaɾ/.

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 44665, this pair ranks #20,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pião vs pilar

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pião": . Private to "pilar": alr.

"pião" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "pilar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pilariplar · pialr · pilarr · pillar · pilra · pliar · ppilar

Frequency comparison

pião#35,727
pilar#8,938

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pião" and "pilar" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "pião" or "pilar"?
"pilar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,938 in our Portuguese list, against #35,727 for "pião". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pião vs pilar

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 “pião” 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