Which to use
“contra” is a preposition and “costura” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #160
- “contra” frequency rank
- #11,842
- “costura” frequency rank
- 12002
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contra | costura |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | em oposição a | ato ou efeito de coser |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contra and costura apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
contra and costura form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contra is recorded at frequency rank #160, classified as aprep, pronounced /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/. costura is at rank #11,842, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kuʃ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/.
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 12002, this pair ranks #60,709 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contra" and "costura" be used interchangeably?
Remembering contra vs costura
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “contra”; for a noun, it's “costura”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contra” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable