Which to use
“tirar” and “tocar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #661
- “tirar” frequency rank
- #1,662
- “tocar” frequency rank
- 2323
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tirar | tocar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pôr para fora; retirar facilmente, em geral com as mãos | encostar uma parte do corpo em |
Where the eye mixes tirar and tocar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tirar and tocar
A purely visual mix-up. tirar (/t͡ʃiˈɾa(ʁ)/ [t͡ʃiˈɾa(h)]) and tocar (/tu.ˈkaɾ/) 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 2323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tirar is recorded at frequency rank #661, classified as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃiˈɾa(ʁ)/ [t͡ʃiˈɾa(h)]. tocar is at rank #1,662, tagged as averb, pronounced /tu.ˈkaɾ/.
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 2323, this pair ranks #73,097 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tirar vs tocar
Shared letters: art. Private to "tirar": i. Private to "tocar": co.
"tirar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tocar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tirar" and "tocar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tirar" or "tocar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tirar" and "tocar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,097 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tirar" and "tocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tocar vs tosa". 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 #73,097 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.