pisarvsprivarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,125
“pisar” frequency rank
#27,982
“privar” frequency rank
39107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pisar privar
Definition colocar os pés sobre tirar a propriedade de

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pisar
6 ch
privar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pisar (/pi.ˈzaɾ/) and privar (/pɾi.ˈvaɾ/) 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 39107, 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/. 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 39107, this pair ranks #27,234 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pisar vs privar

Shared letters: aipr. Private to "pisar": s. Private to "privar": v.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pisaripsar · piasr · pisarr · pisra · pissar · ppisar · psiar
  • privarpirvar · pprivar · priavr · privarr · privra · privvar · prrivar · prviar

Frequency comparison

pisar#11,125
privar#27,982

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pisar" and "privar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pi.ˈzaɾ/ versus /pɾi.ˈvaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pisar" or "privar"?
"pisar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,125 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 pisar vs privar

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
  • 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