cagarvscalaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cagar is a verb, cala is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cagar” is a verb and “cala” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,631
“cagar” frequency rank
#15,794
“cala” frequency rank
22425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagar cala
Definition Expulsar del cuerpo las heces de la digestión. Pequeña porción de mar que se interna en la tierra.

Where the eye mixes cagar and cala

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cagar
4 ch
cala

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cagar is [kaˈɣ̞aɾ] while cala is [ˈkala]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cagar is recorded at frequency rank #6,631, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈɣ̞aɾ]. cala is at rank #15,794, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkala].

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 22425, this pair ranks #250,399 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cagar vs cala

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cagar": gr. Private to "cala": l.

"cagar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "cala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagaracgar · caagr · cagarr · caggar · ccagar · cgaar
  • calaacla · caal · ccala · claa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cagar" and "cala" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cagar" is a verb and "cala" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cagar" or "cala"?
"cagar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,631 in our Spanish list, against #15,794 for "cala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "cagar" and "cala". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cala" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #250,399 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cagar" and "cala" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cala vs ceba". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list