vargemvsvarrerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,416
“vargem” frequency rank
#19,589
“varrer” frequency rank
52005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vargem varrer
Definition terreno baixo, plano e fértil situado na margem de um rio, sujeito a alagamentos em época de chuva limpar com vassoura

Letter map: vargem vs varrer

Shared letters muted; letters that set vargem and varrer apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

6 ch
vargem
6 ch
varrer

Grammar separator: vargem vs varrer

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: vargem is anoun and varreraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vargem is recorded at frequency rank #32,416, classified as anoun. varrer is at rank #19,589, tagged as averb, pronounced /vɐ.ˈReɾ/.

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 52005, this pair ranks #13,118 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vargem vs varrer

Shared letters: aerv. Private to "vargem": gm. Private to "varrer": -.

"vargem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "varrer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vargemavrgem · vagrem · varegm · vargemm · varggem · vargme · varrgem · vragem
  • varreravrrer · varer · varerr · varrerr · varrre · vrarer · vvarrer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vargem" for "varrer" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vargem" is a noun and "varrer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vargem" or "varrer"?
"varrer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,589 in our Portuguese list, against #32,416 for "vargem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "vargem" and "varrer".

  • Full dictionary entry for "vargem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "varrer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #13,118 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vargem" and "varrer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vagem vs vargem". 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 #13,118 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