Which to use
“pousada” is a noun and “pousar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,678
- “pousada” frequency rank
- #17,362
- “pousar” frequency rank
- 32040
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pousada | pousar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hotel modesto, em geral com poucos quartos | colocar algo em cima de uma superfície |
Where the eye mixes pousada and pousar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pousada runs 7 letters (CVVCVCV) against pousar's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pousada vs pousar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pousada is /pow.ˈza.dɐ/ while pousar is /pow.ˈzaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32040, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pousada is recorded at frequency rank #14,678, classified as anoun, pronounced /pow.ˈza.dɐ/. 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 32040, this pair ranks #35,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pousada vs pousar
Shared letters: aopsu. Private to "pousada": d. Private to "pousar": r.
"pousada" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "pousar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pousada" for "pousar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pousada" 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 "pousada" 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 #35,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pousada" and "pousar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pousar vs pulsar". 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 #35,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.