Which to use
“cisma” and “cosa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,106
- “cisma” frequency rank
- #31,312
- “cosa” frequency rank
- 63418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cisma | cosa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de cismar, de cogitar | coisa |
Where the eye mixes cisma and cosa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cisma with cosa
A purely visual mix-up. cisma (/ˈsiʒ.mɐ/) and cosa (/'kɔ.sa/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cisma is recorded at frequency rank #32,106, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsiʒ.mɐ/. cosa is at rank #31,312, tagged as anoun, pronounced /'kɔ.sa/.
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 63418, this pair ranks #6,196 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cisma vs cosa
Shared letters: acs. Private to "cisma": im. Private to "cosa": o.
"cisma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cosa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cisma" for "cosa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cisma" or "cosa"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cisma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cosa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #6,196 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cisma" and "cosa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conca vs cosa". 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 #6,196 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.