Which to use
“custa” and “custom” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,470
- “custa” frequency rank
- #27,822
- “custom” frequency rank
- 30292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | custa | custom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | despesa feita com alguma coisa | costume, hábito |
Where the eye mixes custa and custom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses custa with custom
A purely visual mix-up. custa (/ˈkuʃ.tɐ/) and custom (/kʌstəm/) 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 30292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
custa is recorded at frequency rank #2,470, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkuʃ.tɐ/. custom is at rank #27,822, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kʌstəm/.
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 30292, this pair ranks #38,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of custa vs custom
Shared letters: cstu. Private to "custa": a. Private to "custom": mo.
"custa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "custom" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "custa" for "custom" ever safe?
Which is more common, "custa" or "custom"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "custa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "custom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "custa" and "custom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cisto vs custom". 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 #38,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.