caducovscalcoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caduco is a adjective, calco is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caduco” is an adjective and “calco” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,617
“caduco” frequency rank
#46,977
“calco” frequency rank
94594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caduco calco
Definition Decrépito, muy anciano. Acción y efecto de calcar

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
caduco
5 ch
calco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caduco is [kaˈð̞uko] while calco is [ˈkalko]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caduco is recorded at frequency rank #47,617, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈð̞uko]. calco is at rank #46,977, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkalko].

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 94594, this pair ranks #784 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caduco vs calco

Shared letters: aco. Private to "caduco": du. Private to "calco": l.

"caduco" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "calco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caducoacduco · cadcuo · cadduco · caducco · caduoc · caudco · ccaduco · cdauco
  • calcoaclco · caclo · calcco · callco · caloc · ccalco · claco

Frequency comparison

caduco#47,617
calco#46,977

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caduco" and "calco" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caduco" is an adjective and "calco" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caduco" or "calco"?
"calco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,977 in our Spanish list, against #47,617 for "caduco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caduco vs calco

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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