cru vs cu, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“cru” is an adjective and “cu” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,555
“cru” frequency rank: #4,716
“cu” frequency rank: 19271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	cru	cu
Definition	que não foi cozido ou não foi cozido o suficiente	extremidade do intestino grosso; ânus

Where the eye mixes cru and cu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch

cru

2 ch

Visual trap between cru and cu

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cru is /ˈkɾu/ while cu is /ˈku/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cru is recorded at frequency rank #14,555, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈkɾu/. cu is at rank #4,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈku/.

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 19271, this pair ranks #51,501 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cru vs cu

Shared letters: cu. Private to "cru": r. Private to "cu": -.

"cru" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cu" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cru" and "cu" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cru" is an adjective and "cu" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Frequency check: "cru" vs "cu" - which ranks higher?

"cu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,716 in our Portuguese list, against #14,555 for "cru". 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 "cru" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "cu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #51,501 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"cru" and "cu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chau vs cru". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #51,501 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.