contagemvscoragemWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,052
“contagem” frequency rank
#1,603
“coragem” frequency rank
5655
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contagem coragem
Definition ato ou efeito de contar habilidade de enfrentar o medo, a dor, o perigo, a incerteza ou intimidação; intrepidez, audácia; fé; auto-confiança

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contagem and coragem apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
contagem
7 ch
coragem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contagem (/kõ.ˈta.ʒɐ̃j̃/) and coragem (/ku.ˈɾa.ʒɐ̃j̃/) 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 5655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contagem is recorded at frequency rank #4,052, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ˈta.ʒɐ̃j̃/. coragem is at rank #1,603, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ku.ˈɾa.ʒɐ̃j̃/.

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 5655, this pair ranks #68,921 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contagem vs coragem

Shared letters: acegmo. Private to "contagem": nt. Private to "coragem": r.

"contagem" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "coragem" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contagemccontagem · cnotagem · conatgem · conntagem · contaegm · contagemm · contaggem · contagme
  • coragemccoragem · coargem · coraegm · coragemm · coraggem · coragme · corgaem · corragem

Frequency comparison

contagem#4,052
coragem#1,603

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contagem" and "coragem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.ˈta.ʒɐ̃j̃/ versus /ku.ˈɾa.ʒɐ̃j̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contagem" or "coragem"?
"coragem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,603 in our Portuguese list, against #4,052 for "contagem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contagem vs coragem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contagem” 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