Which to use
“sarar” and “sobrar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,512
- “sarar” frequency rank
- #19,849
- “sobrar” frequency rank
- 49361
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sarar | sobrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | curar, dar saúde | subsistir como resto, sobra ou remanescente; existir ou estar ainda disponível; conservar-se, ficar, restar, permanecer |
Where the eye mixes sarar and sobrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sarar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against sobrar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sarar vs sobrar
A purely visual mix-up. sarar (/sɐ.ˈɾaɾ/) and sobrar (/su.ˈbɾaɾ/) 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 49361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sarar is recorded at frequency rank #29,512, classified as averb, pronounced /sɐ.ˈɾaɾ/. sobrar is at rank #19,849, tagged as averb, pronounced /su.ˈbɾaɾ/.
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 49361, this pair ranks #15,665 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sarar vs sobrar
Shared letters: ars. Private to "sarar": -. Private to "sobrar": bo.
"sarar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "sobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sarar" for "sobrar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sarar" vs "sobrar" - which ranks higher?
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 "sarar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sobrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,665 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sarar" and "sobrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sarado vs sarar". 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 #15,665 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.