cucovscunhoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cuco is a adjective, cunho is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#30,486
“cuco” frequency rank
#13,257
“cunho” frequency rank
43743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuco cunho
Definition que tira partido de algo ou de uma pessoa, que é aproveitado, egoísta origem, fundo, base ou ligação com

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
cuco
5 ch
cunho

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cuco and cunho 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 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43743, 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/. cunho is at rank #13,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈku.ɲu/.

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 43743, this pair ranks #21,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

cuco#30,486
cunho#13,257

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuco" and "cunho" be used interchangeably?
No, "cuco" and "cunho" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cuco vs cunho

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cuco”; for a noun, it's “cunho”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list