Which to use
“sobrar” and “soprar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,849
- “sobrar” frequency rank
- #28,787
- “soprar” frequency rank
- 48636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobrar | soprar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | subsistir como resto, sobra ou remanescente; existir ou estar ainda disponível; conservar-se, ficar, restar, permanecer | produzir sopro; bafejar |
Where the eye mixes sobrar and soprar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sobrar and soprar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between sobrar and soprar
A purely visual mix-up. sobrar (/su.ˈbɾaɾ/) and soprar (/su.ˈpɾaɾ/) 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 a single letter - b in “sobrar” becomes p in “soprar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48636, 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/. soprar is at rank #28,787, tagged as averb, pronounced /su.ˈpɾaɾ/.
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 48636, this pair ranks #16,533 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sobrar vs soprar
Shared letters: aors. Private to "sobrar": b. Private to "soprar": p.
"sobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "soprar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sobrar" and "soprar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "sobrar" or "soprar" show up more?
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 "sobrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "soprar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,533 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobrar" and "soprar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sondar vs soprar". 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 #16,533 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.