Which to use
“cobre” and “course” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,888
- “cobre” frequency rank
- #20,839
- “course” frequency rank
- 24727
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cobre | course |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | elemento de símbolo Cu, possui o número atômico 29 e massa atômica relativa de 63,536 u; é um metal avermelhado, encontrado na natureza associado a minérios como a cuprita, malaquita, calcopirita e a bornita; por ser excelente condutor de eletricidade e muito resistente à corrosão, é empregado em condutores elétricos, motores, eletroímãs e encanamentos | curso |
Where the eye mixes cobre and course
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cobre with course
A purely visual mix-up. cobre (/ˈkɔ.bɾi/) and course (/koəɹs/, /kɔːɹs/) 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 24727, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cobre is recorded at frequency rank #3,888, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔ.bɾi/. course is at rank #20,839, tagged as anoun, pronounced /koəɹs/, /kɔːɹs/.
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 24727, this pair ranks #44,800 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cobre vs course
Shared letters: ceor. Private to "cobre": b. Private to "course": su.
"cobre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "course" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cobre" and "course" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cobre" or "course"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cobre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "course" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,800 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cobre" and "course" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courage vs course". 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 #44,800 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.