cobrarvscopiarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cobrar is a verb, copiar is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cobrar” is a verb and “copiar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,175
“cobrar” frequency rank
#7,512
“copiar” frequency rank
12687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cobrar copiar
Definition pedir ou ordenar o recebimento de algo alpendre

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
cobrar
6 ch
copiar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cobrar is /ko.ˈbɾaχ/ while copiar is /ku.ˈpjaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12687, 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/. copiar is at rank #7,512, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ku.ˈpjaɾ/.

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 12687, this pair ranks #59,823 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cobrar vs copiar

Shared letters: acor. Private to "cobrar": b. Private to "copiar": ip.

"cobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "copiar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cobrarcborar · ccobrar · cobarr · cobbrar · cobrarr · cobrra · cobrrar · corbar
  • copiarccopiar · coipar · copair · copiarr · copira · coppiar · cpoiar · ocpiar

Frequency comparison

cobrar#5,175
copiar#7,512

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cobrar" and "copiar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cobrar" is a verb and "copiar" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cobrar" or "copiar"?
"cobrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,175 in our Portuguese list, against #7,512 for "copiar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cobrar vs copiar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cobrar”; for a noun, it's “copiar”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list