Which to use
“cabos” and “clavos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,535
- “cabos” frequency rank
- #16,289
- “clavos” frequency rank
- 30824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cabos | clavos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En las personas, ojos, cejas y pelo. | Forma del plural de clavo. |
Where the eye mixes cabos and clavos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cabos runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against clavos's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cabos with clavos
A purely visual mix-up. cabos ([ˈkaβ̞os]) and clavos ([ˈklaβ̞os]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cabos is recorded at frequency rank #14,535, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞os]. clavos is at rank #16,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞os].
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 30824, this pair ranks #210,132 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cabos vs clavos
Shared letters: acos. Private to "cabos": b. Private to "clavos": lv.
"cabos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "clavos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cabos" for "clavos" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cabos" vs "clavos" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cabos" and "clavos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cabos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #210,132 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cabos" and "clavos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chamos vs clavos". 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 #210,132 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.