cafévscasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,337
“café” frequency rank
#19,656
“cas” frequency rank
20993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature café cas
Definition Semilla del fruto del cafeto, rica en el estimulante cafeína, que se emplea tostada y molida para preparar una bebida con estas propiedades que se consume en casi todo el mundo. Es el segundo producto en volumen en el comercio internacional, solo superado por el petróleo. Caso.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
café
3 ch
cas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. café ([kaˈfe]) and cas ([ˈkas]) 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 20993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

café is recorded at frequency rank #1,337, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈfe]. cas is at rank #19,656, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkas].

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 20993, this pair ranks #256,874 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of café vs cas

Shared letters: ac. Private to "café": . Private to "cas": s.

"café" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cas" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

café#1,337
cas#19,656

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "café" and "cas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈfe] versus [ˈkas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "café" or "cas"?
"café" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,337 in our Spanish list, against #19,656 for "cas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering café vs cas

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 “café” 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