tocarvstombarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“tocar” and “tombar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,662
“tocar” frequency rank
#44,619
“tombar” frequency rank
46281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tocar tombar
Definition encostar uma parte do corpo em deitar ao chão (transitivo)

Where the eye mixes tocar and tombar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
tocar
6 ch
tombar

Look-alike desk: tocar vs tombar

A purely visual mix-up. tocar (/tu.ˈkaɾ/) and tombar (/tõ.ˈbaɾ/) 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 46281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tocar is recorded at frequency rank #1,662, classified as averb, pronounced /tu.ˈkaɾ/. tombar is at rank #44,619, tagged as averb, pronounced /tõ.ˈbaɾ/.

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 46281, this pair ranks #19,056 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tocar vs tombar

Shared letters: aort. Private to "tocar": c. Private to "tombar": bm.

"tocar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "tombar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tocarotcar · tcoar · toacr · tocarr · toccar · tocra · ttocar
  • tombarotmbar · tmobar · tobmar · tomabr · tombarr · tombbar · tombra · tommbar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tocar" and "tombar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/tu.ˈkaɾ/ versus /tõ.ˈbaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tocar" vs "tombar" - which ranks higher?
"tocar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,662 in our Portuguese list, against #44,619 for "tombar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tocar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tombar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #19,056 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tocar" and "tombar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tombar vs torrar". 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 #19,056 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list