Which to use
“coisa” and “conta” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #105
- “coisa” frequency rank
- #223
- “conta” frequency rank
- 328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coisa | conta |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | qualquer operação de aritmética |
Where the eye mixes coisa and conta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: coisa vs conta
A purely visual mix-up. coisa ([ˈkojzɐ]) and conta (/ˈkõ.tɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coisa is recorded at frequency rank #105, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkojzɐ]. conta is at rank #223, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkõ.tɐ/.
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 328, this pair ranks #75,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coisa vs conta
Shared letters: aco. Private to "coisa": is. Private to "conta": nt.
"coisa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "conta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coisa" and "conta" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "coisa" or "conta" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "coisa" and "conta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "coisa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "conta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coisa" and "conta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conta vs contre". 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 #75,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.