ralar vs rasgar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#41,206
“ralar” frequency rank: #16,594
“rasgar” frequency rank: 57800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ralar	rasgar
Definition	fazer passar pelo ralador; triturar; esmagar; moer	fazer rasgões em

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

ralar

6 ch

rasgar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ralar (/Rɐ.ˈlaɾ/) and rasgar (/Rɐʒ.ˈɡaɾ/) 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 57800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ralar is recorded at frequency rank #41,206, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɐ.ˈlaɾ/. rasgar is at rank #16,594, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɐʒ.ˈɡaɾ/.

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 57800, this pair ranks #9,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ralar vs rasgar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "ralar": l. Private to "rasgar": gs.

"ralar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rasgar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

ralar ← arlar · raalr · ralarr · rallar · ralra · rlaar · rralar
rasgar ← arsgar · ragsar · rasagr · rasgarr · rasggar · rasgra · rassgar · rrasgar

Frequency comparison

ralar#41,206

rasgar#16,594

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ralar" and "rasgar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/Rɐ.ˈlaɾ/ versus /Rɐʒ.ˈɡaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "ralar" or "rasgar"?

"rasgar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,594 in our Portuguese list, against #41,206 for "ralar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ralar vs rasgar

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 “ralar” entry
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