selarvssemearWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,893
“selar” frequency rank
#24,154
“semear” frequency rank
51047
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature selar semear
Definition pôr sela (em cavalo, por exemplo) introduzir sementes no solo, com a intenção de que brotem

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
selar
6 ch
semear

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. selar (/sɨ.ˈlaɾ/) and semear (/sɨ.ˈmjaɾ/) 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 51047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

selar is recorded at frequency rank #26,893, classified as averb, pronounced /sɨ.ˈlaɾ/. semear is at rank #24,154, tagged as averb, pronounced /sɨ.ˈmjaɾ/.

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 51047, this pair ranks #13,948 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of selar vs semear

Shared letters: aers. Private to "selar": l. Private to "semear": m.

"selar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "semear" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • selareslar · sealr · selarr · sellar · selra · slear · sselar
  • semearesmear · seemar · semaer · semearr · semera · semmear · smeear · ssemear

Frequency comparison

selar#26,893
semear#24,154

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "selar" and "semear" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sɨ.ˈlaɾ/ versus /sɨ.ˈmjaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "selar" or "semear"?
"semear" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,154 in our Portuguese list, against #26,893 for "selar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering selar vs semear

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 “selar” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list