cobrar vs coçar, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cobrar and coçar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

cobrar

5 ch

coçar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

cobrar#5,175

coçar#23,956

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cobrar" and "coçar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ko.ˈbɾaχ/ versus /ku.ˈsaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "cobrar" or "coçar"?

"cobrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,175 in our Portuguese list, against #23,956 for "coçar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cobrar vs coçar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cobrar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable