code vs cos, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,046
“code” frequency rank: #23,736
“cos” frequency rank: 39782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	code	cos
Definition	Codeína.	Cuerpo.

Where the eye mixes code and cos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch

code

3 ch

cos

Visual trap between code and cos

A purely visual mix-up. code ([ˈkoð̞e]) and cos ([ˈkos]) 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 39782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

code is recorded at frequency rank #16,046, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkoð̞e]. cos is at rank #23,736, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkos].

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 39782, this pair ranks #162,654 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of code vs cos

Shared letters: co. Private to "code": de. Private to "cos": s.

"code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

code ← ccode · cdoe · codde · coed · ocde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "code" for "cos" ever safe?

No. They are said differently ([ˈkoð̞e] versus [ˈkos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "code" or "cos"?

"code" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,046 in our Spanish list, against #23,736 for "cos". 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 "code" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "cos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #162,654 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"code" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cos vs cuc". 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 #162,654 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.