Which to use
“tocam” and “tomar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,154
- “tocam” frequency rank
- #611
- “tomar” frequency rank
- 12765
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocam | tomar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo tocar | agarrar |
Where the eye mixes tocam and tomar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tocam with tomar
A purely visual mix-up. tocam (/ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and tomar (/tu.ˈmaɾ/) 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 12765, 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]. 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 12765, this pair ranks #59,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tocam vs tomar
Shared letters: amot. Private to "tocam": c. Private to "tomar": r.
"tocam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tomar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tocam" for "tomar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tocam" or "tomar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tocam" and "tomar" 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 "tomar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocam" and "tomar" 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 #59,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.