reforçarvsreforçoTell them apart

Quick tell: reforçar is a verb, reforço is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reforçar” is a verb and “reforço” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,932
“reforçar” frequency rank
#7,076
“reforço” frequency rank
14008
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reforçar reforço
Definition fortalecer ato ou efeito de reforçar

Where the eye mixes reforçar and reforço

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. reforçar runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against reforço's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
reforçar
7 ch
reforço

Look-alike desk: reforçar vs reforço

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reforçar is /Rɨ.fuɾ.ˈsaɾ/ while reforço is /Rɨ.ˈfoɾ.su/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reforçar is recorded at frequency rank #6,932, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.fuɾ.ˈsaɾ/. reforço is at rank #7,076, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈfoɾ.su/.

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 14008, this pair ranks #58,191 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reforçar vs reforço

Shared letters: eforç. Private to "reforçar": a. Private to "reforço": -.

"reforçar" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "reforço" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "reforçar" and "reforço" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "reforçar" is a verb and "reforço" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "reforçar" or "reforço"?
"reforçar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,932 in our Portuguese list, against #7,076 for "reforço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "reforçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reforço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,191 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reforçar" and "reforço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reforçar vs reportar". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #58,191 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list