pisar vs pousar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#11,125
“pisar” frequency rank: #17,362
“pousar” frequency rank: 28487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pisar	pousar
Definition	colocar os pés sobre	colocar algo em cima de uma superfície

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

pisar

6 ch

pousar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pisar (/pi.ˈzaɾ/) and pousar (/pow.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 28487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pisar is recorded at frequency rank #11,125, classified as averb, pronounced /pi.ˈzaɾ/. pousar is at rank #17,362, tagged as averb, pronounced /pow.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 28487, this pair ranks #40,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pisar vs pousar

Shared letters: aprs. Private to "pisar": i. Private to "pousar": ou.

"pisar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pousar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

pisar ← ipsar · piasr · pisarr · pisra · pissar · ppisar · psiar
pousar ← opusar · posuar · pouasr · pousarr · pousra · poussar · ppousar · puosar

Frequency comparison

pisar#11,125

pousar#17,362

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pisar" and "pousar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/pi.ˈzaɾ/ versus /pow.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "pisar" or "pousar"?

"pisar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,125 in our Portuguese list, against #17,362 for "pousar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pisar vs pousar

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 “pisar” entry
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