Which to use
“cat” and “cost” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,740
- “cat” frequency rank
- #22,928
- “cost” frequency rank
- 30668
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cat | cost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gato (Felis catus) | custo |
Where the eye mixes cat and cost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cat and cost
A purely visual mix-up. cat (/kʰaʰt̪/) and cost (/ˈkɔst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cat is recorded at frequency rank #7,740, classified as anoun, pronounced /kʰaʰt̪/. cost is at rank #22,928, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔst/.
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 30668, this pair ranks #37,622 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cat vs cost
Shared letters: ct. Private to "cat": a. Private to "cost": os.
"cat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cost ← ccost · cosst · costt · cots · csot · ocst
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cat" for "cost" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cat" or "cost" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cat" and "cost" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,622 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cat" and "cost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copta vs cost". 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 #37,622 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.