coibirvscolidirConfusable pair

Which to use

“coibir” and “colidir” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,262
“coibir” frequency rank
#32,111
“colidir” frequency rank
56373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coibir colidir
Definition transitivo (transitivo indireto)

Where the eye mixes coibir and colidir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coibir runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against colidir's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
coibir
7 ch
colidir

Look-alike desk: coibir vs colidir

A purely visual mix-up. coibir (/ku.i.ˈbiɾ/) and colidir (/ku.li.ˈdiɾ/) 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 56373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coibir is recorded at frequency rank #24,262, classified as averb, pronounced /ku.i.ˈbiɾ/. colidir is at rank #32,111, tagged as averb, pronounced /ku.li.ˈdiɾ/.

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 56373, this pair ranks #10,015 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of coibir vs colidir

Shared letters: cior. Private to "coibir": b. Private to "colidir": dl.

"coibir" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "colidir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coibir ← ccoibir · ciobir · cobiir · coibbir · coibirr · coibri · coiibr · ocibir
  • colidir ← ccolidir · cloidir · coildir · coldiir · coliddir · colidirr · colidri · coliidr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coibir" and "colidir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ku.i.ˈbiɾ/ versus /ku.li.ˈdiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "coibir" vs "colidir" - which ranks higher?
"coibir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,262 in our Portuguese list, against #32,111 for "colidir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "coibir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "colidir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,015 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "coibir" and "colidir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coagir vs coibir". 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 #10,015 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list