beijovsberçoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,464
“beijo” frequency rank
#8,434
“berço” frequency rank
10898
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beijo berço
Definition toque com os beiços na face, mão, boca ou em qualquer objeto como ato de amor, de respeito ou de religiosidade leito de criança

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set beijo and berço apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
beijo
5 ch
berço

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. beijo (/ˈbej.ʒu/) and berço (/ˈbeɾ.su/) 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 10898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beijo is recorded at frequency rank #2,464, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbej.ʒu/. berço is at rank #8,434, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbeɾ.su/.

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 10898, this pair ranks #62,073 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beijo vs berço

Shared letters: beo. Private to "beijo": ij. Private to "berço": .

"beijo" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "berço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beijobbeijo · beijjo · beioj · bejio · biejo · ebijo

Frequency comparison

beijo#2,464
berço#8,434

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beijo" and "berço" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈbej.ʒu/ versus /ˈbeɾ.su/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beijo" or "berço"?
"beijo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,464 in our Portuguese list, against #8,434 for "berço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beijo vs berço

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 “beijo” 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