Which to use
“toca” is a noun and “tomar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,545
- “toca” frequency rank
- #611
- “tomar” frequency rank
- 3156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toca | tomar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | buraco, natural ou aberto por alguns animais (roedores, aves, desdentados, etc.), usado como abrigo em árvores, solo, pedras ou outros ambientes (como a casa de troncos do castor) | agarrar |
Where the eye mixes toca and tomar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses toca with tomar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: toca is /ˈtɔ.kɐ/ while tomar is /tu.ˈmaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
toca is recorded at frequency rank #2,545, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɔ.kɐ/. tomar is at rank #611, tagged as averb, pronounced /tu.ˈmaɾ/.
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 3156, this pair ranks #72,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of toca vs tomar
Shared letters: aot. Private to "toca": c. Private to "tomar": mr.
"toca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tomar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "toca" and "tomar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "toca" vs "tomar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "toca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tomar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toca" and "tomar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toca vs tónica". 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 #72,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.