Which to use
“caco” and “clavo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,790
- “caco” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “clavo” frequency rank
- 55566
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caco | clavo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persona que tiene por costumbre u oficio el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen. | Pequeña barra de metal delgada y puntiaguda, que se inserta en tablas, paredes y tabiques con un martillo, con el propósito de sujetar o pegar. |
Where the eye mixes caco and clavo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses caco with clavo
A purely visual mix-up. caco ([ˈkako]) and clavo ([ˈklaβ̞o]) 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 55566, 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]. clavo is at rank #9,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞o].
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 55566, this pair ranks #78,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caco vs clavo
Shared letters: aco. Private to "caco": -. Private to "clavo": lv.
"caco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caco" for "clavo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "caco" vs "clavo" - which ranks higher?
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 "clavo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #78,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caco" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caco vs cuc". 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 #78,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.