Which to use
“tocam” and “tocar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,154
- “tocam” frequency rank
- #1,662
- “tocar” frequency rank
- 13816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocam | tocar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo tocar | encostar uma parte do corpo em |
Where the eye mixes tocam and tocar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tocam with tocar
A purely visual mix-up. tocam (/ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) 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 differ by a single letter - m in “tocam” becomes r in “tocar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tocam is recorded at frequency rank #12,154, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. 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 13816, this pair ranks #58,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tocam vs tocar
Shared letters: acot. Private to "tocam": m. Private to "tocar": r.
"tocam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tocar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tocam" and "tocar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tocam" vs "tocar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tocam" and "tocar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tocam" 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 #58,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocam" and "tocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tocam 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 #58,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.