Which to use
“tear” and “Tor” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,581
- “tear” frequency rank
- #19,869
- “Tor” frequency rank
- 51450
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tear | Tor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aparelho ou máquina de tecer | portão, porta |
Where the eye mixes tear and Tor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tear vs Tor
A purely visual mix-up. tear (/ˈtjaɾ/) and Tor (/toːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?)) 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 51450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tear is recorded at frequency rank #31,581, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtjaɾ/. Tor is at rank #19,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced /toːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 51450, this pair ranks #13,594 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tear vs Tor
Shared letters: rt. Private to "tear": ae. Private to "Tor": o.
"tear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Tor" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tear ← etar · taer · tearr · ttear
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tear" for "Tor" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tear" or "Tor" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,594 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tear" and "Tor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tear vs teco". 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 #13,594 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.