Which to use
“cagar” and “coçar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,037
- “cagar” frequency rank
- #23,956
- “coçar” frequency rank
- 38993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cagar | coçar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | expelir pelo ânus; defecar | esfregar com as unhas, ou com outro objeto, qualquer parte do corpo onde se sente comichão |
Where the eye mixes cagar and coçar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cagar and coçar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between cagar and coçar
A purely visual mix-up. cagar (/kɐ'ɣaɾ/) and coçar (/ku.ˈsaɾ/) 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 38993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cagar is recorded at frequency rank #15,037, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ'ɣaɾ/. coçar is at rank #23,956, tagged as averb, pronounced /ku.ˈsaɾ/.
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 38993, this pair ranks #27,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cagar vs coçar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "cagar": g. Private to "coçar": oç.
"cagar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "coçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cagar ← acgar · caagr · cagarr · caggar · ccagar · cgaar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cagar" and "coçar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cagar" or "coçar"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cagar" and "coçar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coçar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cagar" and "coçar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clonar vs coçar". 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 #27,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.