cabenvscabezónWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caben is a verb, cabezón is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caben” is a verb and “cabezón” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,778
“caben” frequency rank
#26,344
“cabezón” frequency rank
41122
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caben cabezón
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de caber. Que tiene una cabeza muy grande.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caben and cabezón apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
caben
7 ch
cabezón

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caben is [ˈkaβ̞ẽn] while cabezón is [kaβ̞eˈsõn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caben is recorded at frequency rank #14,778, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞ẽn]. cabezón is at rank #26,344, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kaβ̞eˈsõn].

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 41122, this pair ranks #155,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caben vs cabezón

Shared letters: abcen. Private to "caben": -. Private to "cabezón": .

"caben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "cabezón" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cabenacben · cabben · cabenn · cabne · caebn · caven · cbaen · ccaben

Frequency comparison

caben#14,778
cabezón#26,344

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caben" and "cabezón" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caben" is a verb and "cabezón" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caben" or "cabezón"?
"caben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,778 in our Spanish list, against #26,344 for "cabezón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caben vs cabezón

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “caben”; for an adjective, it's “cabezón”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list