Which to use
“cape” and “copa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,721
- “cape” frequency rank
- #596
- “copa” frequency rank
- 18317
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cape | copa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | cabo | vaso fundo, de dimensões e formas variáveis, para bebidas; taça |
Where the eye mixes cape and copa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cape with copa
A purely visual mix-up. cape (/keɪp/, /keIp/) and copa (/ˈkɔ.pɐ/) 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 18317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cape is recorded at frequency rank #17,721, classified as anoun, pronounced /keɪp/, /keIp/. copa is at rank #596, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔ.pɐ/.
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 18317, this pair ranks #52,691 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cape vs copa
Shared letters: acp. Private to "cape": e. Private to "copa": o.
"cape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "copa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cape" for "copa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cape" or "copa"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "copa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,691 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cape" and "copa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cape vs caspa". 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 #52,691 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.