recitarvsrecusarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,193
“recitar” frequency rank
#8,253
“recusar” frequency rank
44446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recitar recusar
Definition dizer em voz alta e clara, lendo ou não não aceitar

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
recitar
7 ch
recusar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recitar (/Rɨ.si.ˈtaɾ/) and recusar (/Rɨ.ku.ˈzaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recitar is recorded at frequency rank #36,193, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.si.ˈtaɾ/. recusar is at rank #8,253, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ku.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 44446, this pair ranks #21,042 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recitar vs recusar

Shared letters: acer. Private to "recitar": it. Private to "recusar": su.

"recitar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "recusar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recitarercitar · rceitar · reccitar · reciatr · recitarr · recitra · recittar · rectiar
  • recusarercusar · rceusar · reccusar · recsuar · recuasr · recusarr · recusra · recussar

Frequency comparison

recitar#36,193
recusar#8,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recitar" and "recusar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/Rɨ.si.ˈtaɾ/ versus /Rɨ.ku.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recitar" or "recusar"?
"recusar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,253 in our Portuguese list, against #36,193 for "recitar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recitar vs recusar

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 “recitar” 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