Which to use
“cosa” and “custa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,312
- “cosa” frequency rank
- #2,470
- “custa” frequency rank
- 33782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cosa | custa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | coisa | despesa feita com alguma coisa |
Where the eye mixes cosa and custa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cosa and custa
A purely visual mix-up. cosa (/'kɔ.sa/) and custa (/ˈkuʃ.tɐ/) 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 33782, 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/. custa is at rank #2,470, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkuʃ.tɐ/.
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 33782, this pair ranks #33,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cosa vs custa
Shared letters: acs. Private to "cosa": o. Private to "custa": tu.
"cosa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "custa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cosa" and "custa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cosa" or "custa"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cosa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "custa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cosa" and "custa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conca vs cosa". 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 #33,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.