cagavschaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caga is a verb, cha is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caga” is a verb and “cha” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,674
“caga” frequency rank
#12,328
“cha” frequency rank
20002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caga cha
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cagar o de cagarse. No.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
caga
3 ch
cha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caga is [ˈkaɣ̞a] while cha is [xa]. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caga is recorded at frequency rank #7,674, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaɣ̞a]. cha is at rank #12,328, tagged as anadv, pronounced [xa].

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 20002, this pair ranks #261,232 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caga vs cha

Shared letters: ac. Private to "caga": g. Private to "cha": h.

"caga" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cha" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagaacga · caag · cagga · ccaga · cgaa

Frequency comparison

caga#7,674
cha#12,328

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caga" and "cha" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caga" is a verb and "cha" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caga" or "cha"?
"caga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,674 in our Spanish list, against #12,328 for "cha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caga vs cha

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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