cucovscutWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“cuco” and “cut” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,486
“cuco” frequency rank
#11,244
“cut” frequency rank
41730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuco cut
Definition que tira partido de algo ou de uma pessoa, que é aproveitado, egoísta cortado

Where the eye mixes cuco and cut

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

4 ch
cuco
3 ch
cut

Visual trap between cuco and cut

A purely visual mix-up. cuco (/'ku.kʊ/) and cut (/ˈkʌt/) 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 41730, 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/. cut is at rank #11,244, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkʌt/.

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 41730, this pair ranks #24,146 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cuco vs cut

Shared letters: cu. Private to "cuco": o. Private to "cut": t.

"cuco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cucoccuco · ccuo · cucco · cuoc · ucco

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuco" and "cut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/'ku.kʊ/ versus /ˈkʌt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cuco" or "cut"?
"cut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,244 in our Portuguese list, against #30,486 for "cuco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cuco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,146 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cuco" and "cut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cúbico vs cuco". 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 #24,146 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list