Which to use
“caw” and “claw” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,655
- “caw” frequency rank
- #13,116
- “claw” frequency rank
- 61771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caw | claw |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The harsh cry of a crow. | A curved, pointed, horny projection on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird. |
Where the eye mixes caw and claw
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses caw with claw
A purely visual mix-up. caw (/kɔː/) and claw (/klɔ/) 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 61771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caw is recorded at frequency rank #48,655, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɔː/. claw is at rank #13,116, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɔ/.
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 61771, this pair ranks #92,330 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caw vs claw
Shared letters: acw. Private to "caw": -. Private to "claw": l.
"caw" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "claw" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- claw ← calw · cclaw · claww · cllaw · clwa · lcaw
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caw" and "claw" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "caw" or "claw" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "caw" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "claw" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,330 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caw" and "claw" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caw vs CGT". 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 #92,330 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.