soltar vs sondar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#5,356
“soltar” frequency rank: #41,731
“sondar” frequency rank: 47087
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	soltar	sondar
Definition	libertar	examinar com a sonda

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

soltar

6 ch

sondar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. soltar (/soɫ.ˈtaɾ/) and sondar (/sõ.ˈdaɾ/) 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 47087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

soltar is recorded at frequency rank #5,356, classified as averb, pronounced /soɫ.ˈtaɾ/. sondar is at rank #41,731, tagged as averb, pronounced /sõ.ˈdaɾ/.

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 47087, this pair ranks #18,194 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of soltar vs sondar

Shared letters: aors. Private to "soltar": lt. Private to "sondar": dn.

"soltar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sondar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

soltar ← osltar · slotar · solatr · solltar · soltarr · soltra · solttar · sotlar
sondar ← osndar · snodar · sodnar · sonadr · sondarr · sonddar · sondra · sonndar

Frequency comparison

soltar#5,356

sondar#41,731

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "soltar" and "sondar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/soɫ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /sõ.ˈdaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "soltar" or "sondar"?

"soltar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,356 in our Portuguese list, against #41,731 for "sondar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering soltar vs sondar

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