cordeirovscorreioWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,033
“cordeiro” frequency rank
#3,673
“correio” frequency rank
12706
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cordeiro correio
Definition filhote da ovelha sistema de transmissão de cartas e pacotes

Where the eye mixes cordeiro and correio

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cordeiro runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against correio's 7 (CVCCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
cordeiro
7 ch
correio

Why the eye confuses cordeiro with correio

A purely visual mix-up. cordeiro (/kuɾ.ˈdɐj.ɾu/) and correio (/ku.ˈRɐj.u/) 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 12706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cordeiro is recorded at frequency rank #9,033, classified as anoun, pronounced /kuɾ.ˈdɐj.ɾu/. correio is at rank #3,673, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ku.ˈRɐj.u/.

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 12706, this pair ranks #59,808 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cordeiro vs correio

Shared letters: ceior. Private to "cordeiro": d. Private to "correio": -.

"cordeiro" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "correio" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cordeiro ← ccordeiro · codreiro · corddeiro · cordeior · cordeirro · corderio · cordiero · corediro
  • correio ← ccorreio · coreio · corerio · correoi · corrieo · croreio · ocrreio

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cordeiro" for "correio" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/kuɾ.ˈdɐj.ɾu/ versus /ku.ˈRɐj.u/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cordeiro" or "correio"?
"correio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,673 in our Portuguese list, against #9,033 for "cordeiro". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cordeiro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "correio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #59,808 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cordeiro" and "correio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cordeiro vs coveiro". 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 #59,808 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list