cabenvscaféWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caben is a verb, café is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#14,778
“caben” frequency rank
#1,337
“café” frequency rank
16115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caben café
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de caber. Semilla del fruto del cafeto, rica en el estimulante cafeína, que se emplea tostada y molida para preparar una bebida con estas propiedades que se consume en casi todo el mundo. Es el segundo producto en volumen en el comercio internacional, solo superado por el petróleo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caben and café apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
caben
4 ch
café

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

caben and café form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16115, 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]. café is at rank #1,337, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈfe].

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 16115, this pair ranks #277,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

caben#14,778
café#1,337

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caben" and "café" be used interchangeably?
No, "caben" and "café" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering caben vs café

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “caben”; for a noun, it's “café”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list