pouparvspousarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,090
“poupar” frequency rank
#17,362
“pousar” frequency rank
26452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poupar pousar
Definition evitar despesas colocar algo em cima de uma superfície

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poupar and pousar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
poupar
6 ch
pousar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poupar (/pow.ˈpaɾ/) 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 a single letter - p in “poupar” becomes s in “pousar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poupar is recorded at frequency rank #9,090, classified as averb, pronounced /pow.ˈpaɾ/. 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 26452, this pair ranks #42,699 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of poupar vs pousar

Shared letters: aopru. Private to "poupar": -. Private to "pousar": s.

"poupar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "pousar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pouparopupar · popuar · pouapr · pouparr · pouppar · poupra · ppoupar · puopar
  • pousaropusar · posuar · pouasr · pousarr · pousra · poussar · ppousar · puosar

Frequency comparison

poupar#9,090
pousar#17,362

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poupar" and "pousar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pow.ˈpaɾ/ versus /pow.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poupar" or "pousar"?
"poupar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,090 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 poupar 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 “poupar” 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