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 eye mixes pisar and pousar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pisar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pousar's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pisar and pousar
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pisar" and "pousar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pisar" vs "pousar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pisar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pousar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pisar" and "pousar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pastar vs pisar". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #40,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.