cagadovsclavadoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,296
“cagado” frequency rank
#18,186
“clavado” frequency rank
33482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagado clavado
Definition Que contiene excrementos. Guarnecido o armado con clavos.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cagado and clavado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cagado
7 ch
clavado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cagado ([kaˈɣ̞að̞o]) and clavado ([klaˈβ̞að̞o]) 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 33482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cagado is recorded at frequency rank #15,296, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈɣ̞að̞o]. clavado is at rank #18,186, tagged as anadj, pronounced [klaˈβ̞að̞o].

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 33482, this pair ranks #196,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cagado vs clavado

Shared letters: acdo. Private to "cagado": g. Private to "clavado": lv.

"cagado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "clavado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagadoacgado · caagdo · cagaddo · cagaod · cagdao · caggado · ccagado · cgaado
  • clavadocalvado · cclavado · claavdo · clabado · clavaddo · clavaod · clavdao · clavvado

Frequency comparison

cagado#15,296
clavado#18,186

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cagado" and "clavado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈɣ̞að̞o] versus [klaˈβ̞að̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cagado" or "clavado"?
"cagado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,296 in our Spanish list, against #18,186 for "clavado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cagado vs clavado

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 “cagado” 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