cabenvscameWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,778
“caben” frequency rank
#33,003
“came” frequency rank
47781
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caben came
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de caber. Se utiliza para indicar que el siguiente suceso, período o cambio de estado ocurrió en el pasado, después de un tiempo de espera, perduración o anticipación.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caben and came apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
caben
4 ch
came

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

caben and came 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 47781, 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]. came is at rank #33,003, tagged as aprep, pronounced /keɪm/.

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 47781, this pair ranks #118,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

caben#14,778
came#33,003

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caben" and "came" be used interchangeably?
No, "caben" and "came" 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 came

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “caben”; for a preposition, it's “came”.
  • 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