cauçãovscucoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caução is a noun, cuco is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caução” is a noun and “cuco” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,325
“caução” frequency rank
#30,486
“cuco” frequency rank
73811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caução cuco
Definition valor depositado como garantia de realização de um compromisso que tira partido de algo ou de uma pessoa, que é aproveitado, egoísta

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
caução
4 ch
cuco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: caução is anoun and cucoanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caução is recorded at frequency rank #43,325, classified as anoun. cuco is at rank #30,486, tagged as anadj, pronounced /'ku.kʊ/.

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 73811, this pair ranks #2,683 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caução vs cuco

Shared letters: cou. Private to "caução": aãç. Private to "cuco": -.

"caução" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV  ·  "cuco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cucoccuco · ccuo · cucco · cuoc · ucco

Frequency comparison

caução#43,325
cuco#30,486

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caução" and "cuco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caução" is a noun and "cuco" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caução" or "cuco"?
"cuco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,486 in our Portuguese list, against #43,325 for "caução". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caução vs cuco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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