cadenavscaducaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,539
“cadena” frequency rank
#34,921
“caduca” frequency rank
36460
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cadena caduca
Definition Serie de objetos entrelazados uno después de otro, especialmente eslabones metálicos. Epilepsia.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cadena and caduca apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cadena
6 ch
caduca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cadena ([kaˈð̞ena]) and caduca ([kaˈð̞uka]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36460, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cadena is recorded at frequency rank #1,539, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈð̞ena]. caduca is at rank #34,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈð̞uka].

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 36460, this pair ranks #180,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cadena vs caduca

Shared letters: acd. Private to "cadena": en. Private to "caduca": u.

"cadena" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "caduca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cadenaacdena · caddena · cadean · cadenna · cadnea · caedna · ccadena · cdaena
  • caducaacduca · cadcua · cadduca · caduac · caducca · caudca · ccaduca · cdauca

Frequency comparison

cadena#1,539
caduca#34,921

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cadena" and "caduca" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈð̞ena] versus [kaˈð̞uka]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cadena" or "caduca"?
"cadena" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,539 in our Spanish list, against #34,921 for "caduca". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering cadena vs caduca

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 “cadena” 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