Which to use
“cautela” and “costela” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,408
- “cautela” frequency rank
- #16,721
- “costela” frequency rank
- 28129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cautela | costela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | cuidado para evitar um mal | ossos longos e achatados que ligam a coluna dorsal ao esterno, formando a caixa torácica |
Where the eye mixes cautela and costela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cautela (CVVCVCV) and costela (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cautela and costela
A purely visual mix-up. cautela (/kaw.ˈtɛ.lɐ/) and costela (/kuʃ.ˈtɛ.lɐ/) 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 28129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cautela is recorded at frequency rank #11,408, classified as anoun, pronounced /kaw.ˈtɛ.lɐ/. costela is at rank #16,721, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kuʃ.ˈtɛ.lɐ/.
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 28129, this pair ranks #40,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cautela vs costela
Shared letters: acelt. Private to "cautela": u. Private to "costela": os.
"cautela" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "costela" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cautela" and "costela" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cautela" or "costela"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cautela" and "costela" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cautela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cautela" and "costela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "castelão vs costela". 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 #40,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.