sobrar vs sonhar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#19,849
“sobrar” frequency rank: #5,580
“sonhar” frequency rank: 25429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sobrar	sonhar
Definition	subsistir como resto, sobra ou remanescente; existir ou estar ainda disponível; conservar-se, ficar, restar, permanecer	ter experiência do sonho durante o sono

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

sobrar

6 ch

sonhar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sobrar (/su.ˈbɾaɾ/) and sonhar (/su.ˈɲaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sobrar is recorded at frequency rank #19,849, classified as averb, pronounced /su.ˈbɾaɾ/. sonhar is at rank #5,580, tagged as averb, pronounced /su.ˈɲaɾ/.

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 25429, this pair ranks #43,886 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sobrar vs sonhar

Shared letters: aors. Private to "sobrar": b. Private to "sonhar": hn.

"sobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sonhar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

sobrar ← osbrar · sborar · sobarr · sobbrar · sobrarr · sobrra · sobrrar · sorbar
sonhar ← osnhar · snohar · sohnar · sonahr · sonharr · sonhhar · sonhra · sonnhar

Frequency comparison

sobrar#19,849

sonhar#5,580

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"sonhar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,580 in our Portuguese list, against #19,849 for "sobrar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sobrar vs sonhar

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