Which to use
“variar” is a verb and “vários” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,350
- “variar” frequency rank
- #325
- “vários” frequency rank
- 7675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | variar | vários |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar vário ou diverso | plural de vário |
Where the eye mixes variar and vários
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. variar and vários follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between variar and vários
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: variar is /vɐ.ˈɾjaɾ/ while vários is /ˈva.ɾjuʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
variar is recorded at frequency rank #7,350, classified as averb, pronounced /vɐ.ˈɾjaɾ/. vários is at rank #325, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈva.ɾjuʃ/.
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 7675, this pair ranks #66,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of variar vs vários
Shared letters: irv. Private to "variar": a. Private to "vários": osá.
"variar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "vários" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- variar ← avriar · vairar · varair · variarr · varira · varriar · vraiar · vvariar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "variar" for "vários" ever safe?
Frequency check: "variar" vs "vários" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "variar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vários" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "variar" and "vários" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vacinar vs variar". 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 #66,409 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.