cimavscuraConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#580
“cima” frequency rank
#2,771
“cura” frequency rank
3351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cima cura
Definition a parte superior de alguma coisa; alto, cume, cimeira, topo ato ou efeito de curar

Where the eye mixes cima and cura

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
cima
4 ch
cura

Why the eye confuses cima with cura

A purely visual mix-up. cima (/ˈsi.mɐ/) and cura (/ˈku.ɾɐ/) 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 3351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cima is recorded at frequency rank #580, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsi.mɐ/. cura is at rank #2,771, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈku.ɾɐ/.

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 3351, this pair ranks #71,819 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cima vs cura

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cima": im. Private to "cura": ru.

"cima" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cura" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cimaccima · ciam · cimma · cmia · icma
  • curaccura · crua · cuar · curra · ucra

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cima" and "cura" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈsi.mɐ/ versus /ˈku.ɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cima" or "cura"?
"cima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #580 in our Portuguese list, against #2,771 for "cura". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "cima" and "cura" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #71,819 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cima" and "cura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cerda vs cura". 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 #71,819 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