pilar vs privar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#8,938
“pilar” frequency rank: #27,982
“privar” frequency rank: 36920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pilar	privar
Definition	coluna de sustentação de edifício ou estrutura; esteio, escora, suporte	tirar a propriedade de

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

pilar

6 ch

privar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pilar is /pi.ˈlaɾ/ while privar is /pɾi.ˈvaɾ/. 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 36920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pilar is recorded at frequency rank #8,938, classified as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈlaɾ/. privar is at rank #27,982, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɾi.ˈvaɾ/.

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 36920, this pair ranks #29,793 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pilar vs privar

Shared letters: aipr. Private to "pilar": l. Private to "privar": v.

"pilar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "privar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

pilar ← iplar · pialr · pilarr · pillar · pilra · pliar · ppilar
privar ← pirvar · pprivar · priavr · privarr · privra · privvar · prrivar · prviar

Frequency comparison

pilar#8,938

privar#27,982

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pilar" and "privar" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pilar" is a noun and "privar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "pilar" or "privar"?

"pilar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,938 in our Portuguese list, against #27,982 for "privar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pilar vs privar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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