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 eye mixes cerco and césio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cerco (CVCCV) and césio (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cerco and césio
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
- cerco ← ccerco · cecro · cercco · ceroc · cerrco · creco · ecrco
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cerco" and "césio" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cerco" or "césio" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cerco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "césio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,275 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cerco" and "césio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "césio vs cisto". 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 #17,275 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.