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 eye mixes tombar and tombo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tombar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against tombo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tombar with tombo
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tombar" for "tombo" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tombar" or "tombo" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tombar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tombo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tombar" and "tombo" 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 #5,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.