Which to use
“provar” and “provocar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,795
- “provar” frequency rank
- #4,848
- “provocar” frequency rank
- 7643
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | provar | provocar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | demonstrar com provas; testemunhar | desafiar |
Where the eye mixes provar and provocar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. provar runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against provocar's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between provar and provocar
A purely visual mix-up. provar (/pɾu.ˈvaɾ/) and provocar (/pɾu.vu.ˈkaɾ/) 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 7643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
provar is recorded at frequency rank #2,795, classified as averb, pronounced /pɾu.ˈvaɾ/. provocar is at rank #4,848, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɾu.vu.ˈkaɾ/.
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 7643, this pair ranks #66,454 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of provar vs provocar
Shared letters: aoprv. Private to "provar": -. Private to "provocar": c.
"provar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "provocar" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "provar" and "provocar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "provar" or "provocar" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "provar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "provocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,454 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "provar" and "provocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "provocador vs provocar". 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 #66,454 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.