Which to use
“cuco” is an adjective and “cujo” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,486
- “cuco” frequency rank
- #1,638
- “cujo” frequency rank
- 32124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cuco | cujo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que tira partido de algo ou de uma pessoa, que é aproveitado, egoísta | relaciona dois substantivos, um antecedente e outro consequente, sendo este último possuidor de algo (qualidade, condição, sentimento, ser etc.) designado pelo primeiro; equivale a de que, de quem, do/da qual, dos/das quais |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cuco and cujo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cuco and cujo form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - c in “cuco” becomes j in “cujo” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cuco is recorded at frequency rank #30,486, classified as anadj, pronounced /'ku.kʊ/. cujo is at rank #1,638, tagged as apron.
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 32124, this pair ranks #35,778 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cuco" and "cujo" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cuco vs cujo
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cuco”; for a pronoun, it's “cujo”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cuco” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable