The cuatro of Venezuela has four single nylon strings, tuned (ad'f#'b). It is similar in shape and tuning to the ukulele, but their character and playing technique are vastly different. It is tuned in a similar fashion to the traditional D tuning of the ukulele, but the A and B are an octave lower. Consequently, the same fingering can be used to shape the chords, but it produces a different inversion of each chord.
A cuatro player is called a cuatrista.
Venezuelan Cuatro.
Street musician playing a cuatro
Venezuelan Concert Cuatro
The ukulele, also called a uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
Martin 3K Ukulele
1916 cartoon by Louis M. Glackens satirizing the contemporary ukulele craze.
Boy in Hawaii wearing lei and holding a Maccaferri "Islander" plastic ukulele
A modern red ukulele