Which to use
“tocam” and “tocou” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,154
- “tocam” frequency rank
- #4,025
- “tocou” frequency rank
- 16179
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocam | tocou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo tocar | terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo tocar |
Where the eye mixes tocam and tocou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tocam with tocou
A purely visual mix-up. tocam (/ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and tocou (/to.ˈko/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tocam is recorded at frequency rank #12,154, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. tocou is at rank #4,025, tagged as averb, pronounced /to.ˈko/.
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 16179, this pair ranks #55,430 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tocam vs tocou
Shared letters: cot. Private to "tocam": am. Private to "tocou": u.
"tocam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tocou" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tocam" and "tocou" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tocam" vs "tocou" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tocam" and "tocou" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tocam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tocou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,430 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocam" and "tocou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tocam vs tosa". 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 #55,430 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.