sarar vs sobrar, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

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

5 ch

sarar

6 ch

sobrar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

sarar ← asrar · saarr · sararr · sarra · sarrar · sraar · ssarar
sobrar ← osbrar · sborar · sobarr · sobbrar · sobrarr · sobrra · sobrrar · sorbar

Frequency comparison

sarar#29,512

sobrar#19,849

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sarar" and "sobrar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/sɐ.ˈɾaɾ/ versus /su.ˈbɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "sarar" or "sobrar"?

"sobrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,849 in our Portuguese list, against #29,512 for "sarar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sarar vs sobrar

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 “sarar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable