Which to use
“coçar” and “contar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,956
- “coçar” frequency rank
- #740
- “contar” frequency rank
- 24696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coçar | contar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | esfregar com as unhas, ou com outro objeto, qualquer parte do corpo onde se sente comichão | enumerar os elementos de uma série |
Where the eye mixes coçar and contar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. coçar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against contar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between coçar and contar
A purely visual mix-up. coçar (/ku.ˈsaɾ/) and contar (/kõ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 24696, 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/. contar is at rank #740, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 24696, this pair ranks #44,855 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coçar vs contar
Shared letters: acor. Private to "coçar": ç. Private to "contar": nt.
"coçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "contar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contar ← ccontar · cnotar · conatr · conntar · contarr · conttar · cotnar · ocntar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coçar" for "contar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "coçar" or "contar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "coçar" and "contar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "coçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,855 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coçar" and "contar" 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 #44,855 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.