coçar vs coco, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#23,956
“coçar” frequency rank: #5,833
“coco” frequency rank: 29789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	coçar	coco
Definition	esfregar com as unhas, ou com outro objeto, qualquer parte do corpo onde se sente comichão	fruto gerado pelo coqueiro, muito usado para se fazer doces e para consumo de seu líquido

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coçar and coco apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

coçar

4 ch

coco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coçar is /ku.ˈsaɾ/ while coco is /ˈko.ku/ ouvir ^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coçar is recorded at frequency rank #23,956, classified as averb, pronounced /ku.ˈsaɾ/. coco is at rank #5,833, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈko.ku/ ouvir ^(fonte ?).

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 29789, this pair ranks #38,787 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of coçar vs coco

Shared letters: co. Private to "coçar": arç. Private to "coco": -.

"coçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "coco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

coco ← ccoco · ccoo · cocco · cooc · occo

Frequency comparison

coçar#23,956

coco#5,833

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "coçar" is a verb and "coco" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

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

"coco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,833 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 coçar vs coco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “coçar”; for a noun, it's “coco”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “coçar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable