coldvscoreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cold is a adjective, core is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cold” is an adjective and “core” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,538
“cold” frequency rank
#9,649
“core” frequency rank
24187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cold core
Definition frio núcleo de processamento

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
cold
4 ch
core

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cold and core form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cold is recorded at frequency rank #14,538, classified as anadj, pronounced /koʊld/. core is at rank #9,649, tagged as anoun, pronounced ˈkɔ.ɾɪ/.

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 24187, this pair ranks #45,491 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

cold#14,538
core#9,649

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cold" and "core" be used interchangeably?
No, "cold" and "core" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cold vs core

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list