Which to use
“caco” and “calco” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,790
- “caco” frequency rank
- #46,977
- “calco” frequency rank
- 92767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caco | calco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persona que tiene por costumbre u oficio el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen. | Acción y efecto de calcar |
Where the eye mixes caco and calco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caco runs 4 letters (CVCV) against calco's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between caco and calco
A purely visual mix-up. caco ([ˈkako]) and calco ([ˈkalko]) 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 92767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caco is recorded at frequency rank #45,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkako]. calco is at rank #46,977, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkalko].
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 92767, this pair ranks #1,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caco vs calco
Shared letters: aco. Private to "caco": -. Private to "calco": l.
"caco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "calco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caco" for "calco" ever safe?
Which is more common, "caco" or "calco"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "calco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caco" and "calco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calco vs Chasco". 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 #1,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.