cestavscustoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#9,017
“cesta” frequency rank
#1,773
“custo” frequency rank
10790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cesta custo
Definition objeto comumente feito de fibras ou vergas entrelaçadas, para o transporte e armazenamento de produtos como alimentos, roupas, etc o quanto algo custa, o preço de algo

Where the eye mixes cesta and custo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cesta
5 ch
custo

Why the eye confuses cesta with custo

A purely visual mix-up. cesta (/ˈseʃ.tɐ/, /ˈses.tɐ/ (menos frequente)) and custo (/ˈkuʃ.tu/) 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 10790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cesta is recorded at frequency rank #9,017, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈseʃ.tɐ/, /ˈses.tɐ/ (menos frequente). custo is at rank #1,773, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkuʃ.tu/.

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 10790, this pair ranks #62,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cesta vs custo

Shared letters: cst. Private to "cesta": ae. Private to "custo": ou.

"cesta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "custo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cestaccesta · cesat · cessta · cestta · cetsa · cseta · ecsta
  • custoccusto · csuto · cusot · cussto · custto · cutso · ucsto

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cesta" for "custo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈseʃ.tɐ/, /ˈses.tɐ/ (menos frequente) versus /ˈkuʃ.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cesta" vs "custo" - which ranks higher?
"custo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,773 in our Portuguese list, against #9,017 for "cesta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cesta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "custo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cesta" and "custo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cerda vs cesta". 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 #62,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list