cacovscircoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,790
“caco” frequency rank
#5,383
“circo” frequency rank
51173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caco circo
Definition Persona que tiene por costumbre u oficio el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen. Gran carpa, generalmente por la forma nómada del negocio, con gradas para el público y un espacio al centro donde se realizan espectáculos gimnásticos, ecuestres, de payasos, entre otros.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
caco
5 ch
circo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caco ([ˈkako]) and circo ([ˈsiɾko]) 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 51173, 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]. circo is at rank #5,383, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsiɾko].

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 51173, this pair ranks #99,264 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caco vs circo

Shared letters: co. Private to "caco": a. Private to "circo": ir.

"caco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "circo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cacoacco · cacco · caoc · ccaco · ccao
  • circoccirco · cicro · circco · ciroc · cirrco · crico · icrco · sirco

Frequency comparison

caco#45,790
circo#5,383

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caco" and "circo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkako] versus [ˈsiɾko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caco" or "circo"?
"circo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,383 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 circo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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