Which to use
“cobrar” and “coçar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,175
- “cobrar” frequency rank
- #23,956
- “coçar” frequency rank
- 29131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cobrar | coçar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pedir ou ordenar o recebimento de algo | esfregar com as unhas, ou com outro objeto, qualquer parte do corpo onde se sente comichão |
Where the eye mixes cobrar and coçar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cobrar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against coçar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cobrar and coçar
A purely visual mix-up. cobrar (/ko.ˈbɾaχ/) and coçar (/ku.ˈsaɾ/) 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 29131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cobrar is recorded at frequency rank #5,175, classified as averb, pronounced /ko.ˈbɾaχ/. coçar is at rank #23,956, tagged as averb, pronounced /ku.ˈsaɾ/.
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 29131, this pair ranks #39,576 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cobrar vs coçar
Shared letters: acor. Private to "cobrar": b. Private to "coçar": ç.
"cobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "coçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cobrar ← cborar · ccobrar · cobarr · cobbrar · cobrarr · cobrra · cobrrar · corbar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cobrar" for "coçar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cobrar" vs "coçar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cobrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coçar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,576 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cobrar" and "coçar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clonar vs coçar". 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 #39,576 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.