tombarvstomboWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tombar is a verb, tombo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tombar” is a verb and “tombo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,619
“tombar” frequency rank
#19,867
“tombo” frequency rank
64486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tombar tombo
Definition deitar ao chão (transitivo) ato ou efeito de tombar; queda

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tombar and tombo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tombar
5 ch
tombo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tombar is /tõ.ˈbaɾ/ while tombo is /ˈtõ.bu/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tombar is recorded at frequency rank #44,619, classified as averb, pronounced /tõ.ˈbaɾ/. tombo is at rank #19,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtõ.bu/.

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 64486, this pair ranks #5,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tombar vs tombo

Shared letters: bmot. Private to "tombar": ar. Private to "tombo": -.

"tombar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tombo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tombarotmbar · tmobar · tobmar · tomabr · tombarr · tombbar · tombra · tommbar
  • tombootmbo · tmobo · tobmo · tombbo · tommbo · tomob · ttombo

Frequency comparison

tombar#44,619
tombo#19,867

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tombar" and "tombo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tombar" is a verb and "tombo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tombar" or "tombo"?
"tombo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,867 in our Portuguese list, against #44,619 for "tombar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tombar vs tombo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tombar”; for a noun, it's “tombo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tombar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list