cacovscausoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#45,790
“caco” frequency rank
#31,256
“causo” frequency rank
77046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caco causo
Definition Persona que tiene por costumbre u oficio el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de causar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
caco
5 ch
causo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caco is [ˈkako] while causo is [ˈkawso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77046, 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]. causo is at rank #31,256, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkawso].

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 77046, this pair ranks #16,695 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caco vs causo

Shared letters: aco. Private to "caco": -. Private to "causo": su.

"caco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "causo" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cacoacco · cacco · caoc · ccaco · ccao
  • causocasuo · cauos · causso · ccauso · cuaso

Frequency comparison

caco#45,790
causo#31,256

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caco" and "causo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caco" is a noun and "causo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caco" or "causo"?
"causo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,256 in our Spanish list, against #45,790 for "caco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caco vs causo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “caco”; for a verb, it's “causo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caco” 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