Which to use
“cada” is an adjective and “caí” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #89
- “cada” frequency rank
- #11,538
- “caí” frequency rank
- 11627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cada | caí |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Designa una cosa o persona entre varias o entre una serie de ellas. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de caer o de caerse. |
Where the eye mixes cada and caí
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cada and caí
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cada is [ˈkað̞a] while caí is [kaˈi]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cada is recorded at frequency rank #89, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkað̞a]. caí is at rank #11,538, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈi].
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 11627, this pair ranks #294,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cada vs caí
Shared letters: ac. Private to "cada": d. Private to "caí": í.
"cada" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "caí" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cada ← acda · caad · cadda · ccada · cdaa
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cada" for "caí" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cada" vs "caí" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "caí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cada" and "caí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caí 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 #294,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.