pirarvspisarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,423
“pirar” frequency rank
#11,125
“pisar” frequency rank
35548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pirar pisar
Definition endoidar colocar os pés sobre

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pirar
5 ch
pisar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pirar (/pi.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 a single letter - r in “pirar” becomes s in “pisar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pirar is recorded at frequency rank #24,423, classified as averb, pronounced /pi.ˈɾaɾ/. 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 35548, this pair ranks #31,497 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pirar vs pisar

Shared letters: aipr. Private to "pirar": -. Private to "pisar": s.

"pirar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pisar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pirariprar · piarr · pirarr · pirrar · ppirar · priar
  • pisaripsar · piasr · pisarr · pisra · pissar · ppisar · psiar

Frequency comparison

pirar#24,423
pisar#11,125

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pirar" and "pisar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pi.ˈɾaɾ/ versus /pi.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pirar" or "pisar"?
"pisar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,125 in our Portuguese list, against #24,423 for "pirar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pirar 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 “pirar” 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