Which to use
“coisa” and “cólica” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #105
- “coisa” frequency rank
- #34,652
- “cólica” frequency rank
- 34757
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coisa | cólica |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualquer objeto inanimado; em sentido filosófico, coisa é tudo aquilo subsistente por si mesmo; a filosofia kantiana afirma ser uma coisa aquilo que existe independentemente do espírito; no sentido usual, como para o Direito, coisa é tudo aquilo que, percebido pelos sentidos, pode apresentar utilidade para o homem, caso em que se chama bem material | dor intensa na cavidade abdominal |
Where the eye mixes coisa and cólica
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. coisa runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against cólica's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between coisa and cólica
A purely visual mix-up. coisa ([ˈkojzɐ]) and cólica (/ˈkɔ.li.kɐ/) 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 34757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coisa is recorded at frequency rank #105, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkojzɐ]. cólica is at rank #34,652, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔ.li.kɐ/.
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 34757, this pair ranks #32,427 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coisa vs cólica
Shared letters: aci. Private to "coisa": os. Private to "cólica": ló.
"coisa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cólica" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- coisa ← ccoisa · ciosa · coias · coissa · cosia · ocisa
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coisa" for "cólica" ever safe?
Frequency check: "coisa" vs "cólica" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "coisa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cólica" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,427 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coisa" and "cólica" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cólica vs conca". 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 #32,427 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.