Which to use
“tambor” is a noun and “tombar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,471
- “tambor” frequency rank
- #44,619
- “tombar” frequency rank
- 59090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tambor | tombar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento musical do tipo membranofone, consistindo de uma membrana esticada sobre um tubo ou caixa de ressonância que pode ser de vários formatos | deitar ao chão (transitivo) |
Where the eye mixes tambor and tombar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tambor and tombar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tambor is /tɐ̃.ˈboɾ/ while tombar is /tõ.ˈbaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tambor is recorded at frequency rank #14,471, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɐ̃.ˈboɾ/. tombar is at rank #44,619, tagged as averb, pronounced /tõ.ˈbaɾ/.
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 59090, this pair ranks #8,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tambor vs tombar
Shared letters: abmort. Private to "tambor": -. Private to "tombar": -.
"tambor" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tombar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tambor" for "tombar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tambor" vs "tombar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tambor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tombar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tambor" and "tombar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tombar vs torrar". 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 #8,376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.