residirvsresistirConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,005
“residir” frequency rank
#5,681
“resistir” frequency rank
26686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature residir resistir
Definition estabelecer-se em um lugar e nele dormir regularmente; habitar, morar, viver manter a coragem, a força (sob pressão)

Where the eye mixes residir and resistir

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

7 ch
residir
8 ch
resistir

Visual trap between residir and resistir

A purely visual mix-up. residir (/Rɨ.zi.ˈdiɾ/) and resistir (/Rɨ.ziʃ.ˈtiɾ/) 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 26686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

residir is recorded at frequency rank #21,005, classified as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.zi.ˈdiɾ/. resistir is at rank #5,681, tagged as averb, pronounced /Rɨ.ziʃ.ˈtiɾ/.

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 26686, this pair ranks #42,416 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of residir vs resistir

Shared letters: eirs. Private to "residir": d. Private to "resistir": t.

"residir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "resistir" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • residir ← ersidir · reisdir · resdiir · residdir · residirr · residri · resiidr · ressidir
  • resistir ← ersistir · reisstir · resisitr · resisstir · resistirr · resistri · resisttir · resitsir

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "residir" and "resistir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/Rɨ.zi.ˈdiɾ/ versus /Rɨ.ziʃ.ˈtiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "residir" or "resistir"?
"resistir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,681 in our Portuguese list, against #21,005 for "residir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "residir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "resistir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,416 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "residir" and "resistir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redigir vs residir". 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 #42,416 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