cabezavscadenaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“cabeza” and “cadena” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#375
“cabeza” frequency rank
#1,539
“cadena” frequency rank
1914
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cabeza cadena
Definition Parte superior del cuerpo del ser humano y de algunos animales, que contiene el cerebro, la boca, los ojos, y otros órganos sensoriales. Serie de objetos entrelazados uno después de otro, especialmente eslabones metálicos.

Where the eye mixes cabeza and cadena

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
cabeza
6 ch
cadena

Look-alike desk: cabeza vs cadena

A purely visual mix-up. cabeza ([kaˈβ̞esa]) and cadena ([kaˈð̞ena]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cabeza is recorded at frequency rank #375, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈβ̞esa]. cadena is at rank #1,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈð̞ena].

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 1914, this pair ranks #321,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cabeza vs cadena

Shared letters: ace. Private to "cabeza": bz. Private to "cadena": dn.

"cabeza" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "cadena" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cabezaacbeza · cabbeza · cabeaz · cabezza · cabzea · caebza · caveza · cbaeza
  • cadenaacdena · caddena · cadean · cadenna · cadnea · caedna · ccadena · cdaena

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cabeza" and "cadena" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈβ̞esa] versus [kaˈð̞ena]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cabeza" vs "cadena" - which ranks higher?
"cabeza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #375 in our Spanish list, against #1,539 for "cadena". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "cabeza" and "cadena" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cabeza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cadena" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #321,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cabeza" and "cadena" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadena vs cederá". 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 #321,286 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list