Which to use
“causa” and “custa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #340
- “causa” frequency rank
- #2,470
- “custa” frequency rank
- 2810
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | causa | custa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aquilo ou aquele que ocasiona um acontecimento ou faz que uma coisa exista | despesa feita com alguma coisa |
Where the eye mixes causa and custa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: causa vs custa
A purely visual mix-up. causa (/ˈkaw.zɐ/) and custa (/ˈkuʃ.tɐ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
causa is recorded at frequency rank #340, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaw.zɐ/. custa is at rank #2,470, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkuʃ.tɐ/.
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 2810, this pair ranks #72,451 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of causa vs custa
Shared letters: acsu. Private to "causa": -. Private to "custa": t.
"causa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "custa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "causa" for "custa" ever safe?
Frequency check: "causa" vs "custa" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "causa" and "custa" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "causa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "custa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,451 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "causa" and "custa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copta vs custa". 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 #72,451 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.