Which to use
“copas” and “costas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,207
- “copas” frequency rank
- #1,739
- “costas” frequency rank
- 13946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | copas | costas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | naipe de cartas de baralho em que cada ponto é representado por um coração vermelho (♥) | lado posterior do tórax humano |
Where the eye mixes copas and costas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between copas and costas
A purely visual mix-up. copas (/ˈkɔ.pɐʃ/) and costas (/ˈkɔʃtɜʃ/) 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 13946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
copas is recorded at frequency rank #12,207, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔ.pɐʃ/. costas is at rank #1,739, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔʃtɜʃ/.
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 13946, this pair ranks #58,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of copas vs costas
Shared letters: acos. Private to "copas": p. Private to "costas": t.
"copas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "costas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "copas" for "costas" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "copas" or "costas" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "copas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "copas" and "costas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copas vs copta". 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 #58,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.