selarvssoltarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,893
“selar” frequency rank
#5,356
“soltar” frequency rank
32249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature selar soltar
Definition pôr sela (em cavalo, por exemplo) libertar

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
selar
6 ch
soltar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. selar (/sɨ.ˈlaɾ/) and soltar (/soɫ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 32249, 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/. soltar is at rank #5,356, tagged as averb, pronounced /soɫ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 32249, this pair ranks #35,610 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of selar vs soltar

Shared letters: alrs. Private to "selar": e. Private to "soltar": ot.

"selar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "soltar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • selareslar · sealr · selarr · sellar · selra · slear · sselar
  • soltarosltar · slotar · solatr · solltar · soltarr · soltra · solttar · sotlar

Frequency comparison

selar#26,893
soltar#5,356

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "selar" and "soltar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sɨ.ˈlaɾ/ versus /soɫ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "selar" or "soltar"?
"soltar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,356 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 soltar

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