cum

/kʌm/

//kʌm// prep

The verdict

“cum” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,299) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,299
frequency rank, Portuguese
2,140
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - usado para indicar algo com duas funções, ou então que tenha se modificado de uma coisa para outra:

Corpus desk

Index PT-cum · cum · Portuguese

cum · rank #29,299 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,299
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH crista

Nearest frequency peer: crista (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Vizinhos de frequência do confusável “cum”

Pares de peso semelhante no corpus, aparte dos confusáveis abaixo

corpus weight

What this shows As barras situam “cum” face aos lemas portugueses mais próximos por rank, não um reprint da secretária de confusáveis.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cum vs cut
67% similar
cum vs cura
50% similar
cum vs cute
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cum
PropertyValue
Headwordcum
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechPreposition
IPA/kʌm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#29,299
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Rank de corpus junto a confusáveis de “cum”

Esta escala corre do núcleo do português quotidiano (esquerda) até o rastro de formas raras (direita).cumcai aqui:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “crista” (#29,298), “cupcake” (#29,300), “cúmulo” (#29,303). Entre 2,140 lemas com “C”, “cum” fica em #29,299. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for cum is neighbouring look-alikes ("cut", "cura", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced /kʌm/. Frequency #29,299 among 2,140 “C” headwords. Gloss: "usado para indicar algo com duas funções, ou então que tenha se modificado de uma coisa para outra:".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cum, a sign its spelling follows regular Portuguese conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cut", "cura", "cute", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is cum, spelled C-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    usado para indicar algo com duas funções, ou então que tenha se modificado de uma coisa para outra:

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how cum appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He built a bus-cum-greenhouse that made a bold statement, but the plants in it didn't live very long.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cum"?
"cum" is spelled C-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /kʌm/.
What does "cum" mean?
As a preposition, "cum" means: usado para indicar algo com duas funções, ou então que tenha se modificado de uma coisa para outra:
What words are commonly confused with "cum"?
"cum" is commonly confused with "cut", "cura", "cute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cum" is /kʌm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cum" come from?
"cum" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list