codovscostoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,958
“codo” frequency rank
#1,763
“costo” frequency rank
11721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature codo costo
Definition Parte externa de la articulación entre el brazo y el antebrazo. Precio pagado por un bien o servicio, o imputado a la producción de este.

Where the eye mixes codo and costo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
codo
5 ch
costo

Why the eye confuses codo with costo

A purely visual mix-up. codo ([ˈkoð̞o]) and costo ([ˈkost̪o]) 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 11721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

codo is recorded at frequency rank #9,958, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkoð̞o]. costo is at rank #1,763, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkost̪o].

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 11721, this pair ranks #294,106 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of codo vs costo

Shared letters: co. Private to "codo": d. Private to "costo": st.

"codo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "costo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • codoccodo · cdoo · coddo · cood · ocdo
  • costoccosto · cosot · cossto · costto · cotso · csoto · ocsto

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "codo" and "costo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkoð̞o] versus [ˈkost̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "codo" or "costo"?
"costo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,763 in our Spanish list, against #9,958 for "codo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "codo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "costo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #294,106 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "codo" and "costo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "codo vs coin". 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 #294,106 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list