cercovscésioWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cerco” and “césio” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,512
“cerco” frequency rank
#41,427
“césio” frequency rank
47939
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cerco césio
Definition ato de cercar elemento químico de símbolo Cs, possui o número atômico 55 e massa atômica relativa 132,905 u; é um metal alcalino, de coloração ouro prateado; é encontrado em minerais de potássio, tais como micas, berílio, feldspatos e a polucita (alumínio-silicato de césio); o césio metálico é utilizado na fabricação de células fotoelétricas e detectores de infravermelho

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cerco and césio apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cerco
5 ch
césio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cerco (/ˈseɾ.ku/) and césio (/ˈsɛzju/) 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 47939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cerco is recorded at frequency rank #6,512, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈseɾ.ku/. césio is at rank #41,427, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛzju/.

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 47939, this pair ranks #17,275 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cerco vs césio

Shared letters: co. Private to "cerco": er. Private to "césio": isé.

"cerco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "césio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cercoccerco · cecro · cercco · ceroc · cerrco · creco · ecrco

Frequency comparison

cerco#6,512
césio#41,427

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cerco" and "césio" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈseɾ.ku/ versus /ˈsɛzju/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cerco" or "césio"?
"cerco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,512 in our Portuguese list, against #41,427 for "césio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cerco vs césio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cerco” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list