variarvsvazarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,350
“variar” frequency rank
#15,707
“vazar” frequency rank
23057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature variar vazar
Definition tornar vário ou diverso tornar vazio

Where the eye mixes variar and vazar

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

6 ch
variar
5 ch
vazar

Why the eye confuses variar with vazar

A purely visual mix-up. variar (/vɐ.ˈɾjaɾ/) and vazar (/vɐ.ˈzaɾ/) 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 23057, 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/. vazar is at rank #15,707, tagged as averb, pronounced /vɐ.ˈzaɾ/.

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 23057, this pair ranks #46,837 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of variar vs vazar

Shared letters: arv. Private to "variar": i. Private to "vazar": z.

"variar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "vazar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • variaravriar · vairar · varair · variarr · varira · varriar · vraiar · vvariar
  • vazaravzar · vaazr · vazarr · vazra · vazzar · vvazar · vzaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "variar" for "vazar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/vɐ.ˈɾjaɾ/ versus /vɐ.ˈzaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "variar" or "vazar"?
"variar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,350 in our Portuguese list, against #15,707 for "vazar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "variar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vazar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #46,837 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "variar" and "vazar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vazar vs velar". 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 #46,837 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