Which to use
“cache” is a noun and “came” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,382
- “cache” frequency rank
- #294
- “came” frequency rank
- 12676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cache | came |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A store, protected and often hidden in some way, of things that may be required in the future, such that they can be retrieved rapidly. | simple past of come |
Where the eye mixes cache and came
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cache and came
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cache is /kæʃ/ while came is /keɪm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cache is recorded at frequency rank #12,382, classified as anoun, pronounced /kæʃ/. came is at rank #294, tagged as averb, pronounced /keɪm/.
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 12676, this pair ranks #480,184 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cache vs came
Shared letters: ace. Private to "cache": h. Private to "came": m.
"cache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "came" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cache" for "came" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cache" or "came"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "came" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #480,184 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cache" and "came" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cache vs cashew". 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 #480,184 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.