Which to use
“cabe” is a noun and “cabo” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,011
- “cabe” frequency rank
- #621
- “cabo” frequency rank
- 2632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cabe | cabo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción de atravesar la pierna en el camino de otro para hacerlo caer. | Junto, al lado de. |
Where the eye mixes cabe and cabo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cabe with cabo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cabe is [ˈkaβ̞e] while cabo is [ˈkaβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “cabe” becomes o in “cabo”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cabe is recorded at frequency rank #2,011, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞e]. cabo is at rank #621, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞o].
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 2632, this pair ranks #319,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cabe vs cabo
Shared letters: abc. Private to "cabe": e. Private to "cabo": o.
"cabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cabo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cabe" for "cabo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cabe" vs "cabo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cabo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cabe" and "cabo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cabe vs ceba". 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 #319,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.