cincovscitoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cinco is a adjective, cito is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cinco” is an adjective and “cito” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#373
“cinco” frequency rank
#25,237
“cito” frequency rank
25610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cinco cito
Definition número equivalente a quatro mais um; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha cinco elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 5 (algarismos arábicos) ou V (algarismos romanos) fazer mover-se, excitar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cinco and cito apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cinco
4 ch
cito

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cinco and cito form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cinco is recorded at frequency rank #373, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsĩ.ku/. cito is at rank #25,237, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈki.toː/.

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 25610, this pair ranks #43,681 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

cinco#373
cito#25,237

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cinco" and "cito" be used interchangeably?
No, "cinco" and "cito" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cinco vs cito

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cinco”; for a verb, it's “cito”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cinco” 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