cacovscosoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“caco” and “coso” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#45,790
“caco” frequency rank
#21,620
“coso” frequency rank
67410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caco coso
Definition Persona que tiene por costumbre u oficio el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen. Persona cuyo nombre se desconoce, se ha olvidado o se decide omitir, despectivamente o no.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caco and coso apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
caco
4 ch
coso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caco ([ˈkako]) and coso ([ˈkoso]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caco is recorded at frequency rank #45,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkako]. coso is at rank #21,620, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkoso].

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 67410, this pair ranks #37,196 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caco vs coso

Shared letters: co. Private to "caco": a. Private to "coso": s.

"caco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "coso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cacoacco · cacco · caoc · ccaco · ccao
  • cosoccoso · coos · cosso · csoo · ocso

Frequency comparison

caco#45,790
coso#21,620

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caco" and "coso" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkako] versus [ˈkoso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caco" or "coso"?
"coso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,620 in our Spanish list, against #45,790 for "caco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caco vs coso

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caco” 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