cadevscaíWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#45,173
“cade” frequency rank
#11,538
“caí” frequency rank
56711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cade caí
Definition (Phytotoma rara) Ave de la familia Phytotomidae. Mide 19 cm. De plumaje en distintos tonos de pardo con secciones negruzcas, frente y corona pardo rojizas, pico corto y grueso de color negro e iris rojos, con dimorfismo sexual. Se alimenta de plantas y de brotes tiernos de árboles. Ave solitaria, que en algunas épocas del año forma pequeñas bandadas. Frecuenta campos, huertos y jardines. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de caer o de caerse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cade and caí apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cade
3 ch
caí

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cade and caí form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cade is recorded at frequency rank #45,173, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkað̞e]. 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 56711, this pair ranks #73,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

cade#45,173
caí#11,538

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cade" and "caí" be used interchangeably?
No, "cade" and "caí" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cade vs caí

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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