Which to use
“alcaide” and “alcalde” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,655
- “alcaide” frequency rank
- #1,434
- “alcalde” frequency rank
- 25089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alcaide | alcalde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Funcionario designado por el rey para la defensa de una fortaleza durante el Medioevo. | Persona a cargo de la dirección administrativa o política de un municipio o ciudad. |
Where the eye mixes alcaide and alcalde
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses alcaide with alcalde
A purely visual mix-up. alcaide ([alˈkajð̞e]) and alcalde ([alˈkal̪d̪e]) 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 a single letter - i in “alcaide” becomes l in “alcalde”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alcaide is recorded at frequency rank #23,655, classified as anoun, pronounced [alˈkajð̞e]. alcalde is at rank #1,434, tagged as anoun, pronounced [alˈkal̪d̪e].
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 25089, this pair ranks #238,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alcaide vs alcalde
Shared letters: acdel. Private to "alcaide": i. Private to "alcalde": -.
"alcaide" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "alcalde" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alcaide" and "alcalde" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "alcaide" or "alcalde"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "alcaide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alcalde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #238,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alcaide" and "alcalde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alcaide vs Alcides". 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 #238,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.