Which to use
“correr” is a verb and “cortês” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,604
- “correr” frequency rank
- #27,024
- “cortês” frequency rank
- 28628
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | correr | cortês |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mover-se com rapidez | que tem cortesia |
Where the eye mixes correr and cortês
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses correr with cortês
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: correr is /ku.ˈReɾ/ while cortês is /kuɾ.ˈteʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
correr is recorded at frequency rank #1,604, classified as averb, pronounced /ku.ˈReɾ/. cortês is at rank #27,024, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kuɾ.ˈteʃ/.
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 28628, this pair ranks #40,178 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of correr vs cortês
Shared letters: cor. Private to "correr": e. Private to "cortês": stê.
"correr" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cortês" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- correr ← ccorrer · corer · corerr · correrr · corrre · crorer · ocrrer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "correr" for "cortês" ever safe?
Which is more common, "correr" or "cortês"?
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 "correr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cortês" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,178 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "correr" and "cortês" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ceres vs cortês". 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 #40,178 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.