casovscistoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caso is a conjunction, cisto is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caso” is a conjunction and “cisto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#181
“caso” frequency rank
#39,054
“cisto” frequency rank
39235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caso cisto
Definition na hipótese de; se saco fechado que tem uma membrana e divisão distintas do tecido circundante

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
caso
5 ch
cisto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: caso is aconjunction and cistoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caso is recorded at frequency rank #181, classified as aconj, pronounced /ˈka.zu/. cisto is at rank #39,054, tagged as anoun.

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 39235, this pair ranks #27,064 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caso vs cisto

Shared letters: cos. Private to "caso": a. Private to "cisto": it.

"caso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cisto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • casoacso · casso · ccaso · csao
  • cistoccisto · cisot · cissto · cistto · citso · csito · icsto

Frequency comparison

caso#181
cisto#39,054

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caso" and "cisto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caso" is a conjunction and "cisto" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caso" or "cisto"?
"caso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #181 in our Portuguese list, against #39,054 for "cisto". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caso vs cisto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “caso”; for a noun, it's “cisto”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caso” 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