cosavscoxaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,312
“cosa” frequency rank
#12,410
“coxa” frequency rank
43722
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cosa coxa
Definition coisa parte da perna, desde as virilhas até o joelho

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cosa and coxa apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cosa
4 ch
coxa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cosa (/'kɔ.sa/) and coxa (/ˈko.ʃɐ/) 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 a single letter - s in “cosa” becomes x in “coxa”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cosa is recorded at frequency rank #31,312, classified as anoun, pronounced /'kɔ.sa/. coxa is at rank #12,410, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈko.ʃɐ/.

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 43722, this pair ranks #21,898 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cosa vs coxa

Shared letters: aco. Private to "cosa": s. Private to "coxa": x.

"cosa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "coxa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cosaccosa · cossa · csoa · ocsa
  • coxaccoxa · coax · coxxa · cxoa · ocxa

Frequency comparison

cosa#31,312
coxa#12,410

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cosa" and "coxa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/'kɔ.sa/ versus /ˈko.ʃɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cosa" or "coxa"?
"coxa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,410 in our Portuguese list, against #31,312 for "cosa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cosa vs coxa

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 “cosa” 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