Which to use
“prevenir” and “prever” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,571
- “prevenir” frequency rank
- #8,247
- “prever” frequency rank
- 13818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prevenir | prever |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | atalhar, frustrar, impedir, obstar | ver, saber, examinar antecipadamente; antever |
Where the eye mixes prevenir and prever
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. prevenir runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVC) against prever's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prevenir and prever
A purely visual mix-up. prevenir (/pɾɨ.vɨ.ˈniɾ/) and prever (/pɾɨ.ˈveɾ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prevenir is recorded at frequency rank #5,571, classified as averb, pronounced /pɾɨ.vɨ.ˈniɾ/. prever is at rank #8,247, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɾɨ.ˈveɾ/.
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 13818, this pair ranks #58,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prevenir vs prever
Shared letters: eprv. Private to "prevenir": in. Private to "prever": -.
"prevenir" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC · "prever" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prevenir" and "prever" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "prevenir" or "prever"?
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 "prevenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prever" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prevenir" and "prever" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "perecer vs prever". 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 #58,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.