Which to use
“cost” and “custa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,928
- “cost” frequency rank
- #2,470
- “custa” frequency rank
- 25398
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cost | custa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | custo | despesa feita com alguma coisa |
Where the eye mixes cost and custa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cost with custa
A purely visual mix-up. cost (/ˈkɔst/) 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 25398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cost is recorded at frequency rank #22,928, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔst/. 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 25398, this pair ranks #43,934 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cost vs custa
Shared letters: cst. Private to "cost": o. Private to "custa": au.
"cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "custa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cost" and "custa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cost" vs "custa" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" 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 #43,934 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cost" and "custa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copta vs cost". 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 #43,934 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.