calafate
[kalaˈfat̪e]
The verdict
“calafate” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #44,023 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #44,023
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Persona que calafatea las embarcaciones.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | calafate |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [kalaˈfat̪e] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #44,023 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “calafate” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for calafate is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kalaˈfat̪e]. Corpus data places it at rank #44,023 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for calafate, with forms such as "aclafate", "caalfate", and "calaafte". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "callate", "calmate", "califato", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is calafate, spelled C-A-L-A-F-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Persona que calafatea las embarcaciones.
- 2Carpintero que trabaja en obras navales.
Synonyms
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aclafate,caalfate,calaafte,calafaet,calafatte,calaffate,calaftae,calfaate,callafate,ccalafate,claafate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of calafate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "calafate"?
What does "calafate" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "calafate"?
How do you pronounce "calafate"?
What language does "calafate" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “calafate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is C-A-L-A-F-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [kalaˈfat̪e] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “callate” - see the side-by-side comparison. calafate vs callate
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.