escovavsescutaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,061
“escova” frequency rank
#4,149
“escuta” frequency rank
15210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escova escuta
Definition utensílio guarnecido de pelos, sedas, fibras de plástico, fios de arame, etc. que serve para limpar; pode ser usado em roupas, tecidos, móveis, etc ato ou efeito de escutar

Letter map: escova vs escuta

Shared letters muted; letters that set escova and escuta apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. escova and escuta follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
escova
6 ch
escuta

Corpus notes: escova and escuta

escova and escuta are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

escova is recorded at frequency rank #11,061, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈkɔ.vɐ/. escuta is at rank #4,149, tagged as anoun.

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 15210, this pair ranks #56,666 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escova vs escuta

Shared letters: aces. Private to "escova": ov. Private to "escuta": tu.

"escova" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escuta" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escovaecsova · esccova · escoav · escovva · escvoa · esocva · esscova · secova
  • escutaecsuta · esccuta · esctua · escuat · escutta · esscuta · esucta · secuta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "escova" for "escuta" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "escova" vs "escuta" - which ranks higher?
"escuta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,149 in our Portuguese list, against #11,061 for "escova". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "escova" vs "escuta" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "escova" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "escuta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #56,666 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "escova" and "escuta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escoar vs escova". 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 #56,666 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