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Which to use

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

#6,631
“cagar” frequency rank
#33,482
“catar” frequency rank
40113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagar catar
Definition Expulsar del cuerpo las heces de la digestión. Probar algo con el sentido del gusto, especialmente los alimentos.

Where the eye mixes cagar and catar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cagar
5 ch
catar

Why the eye confuses cagar with catar

A purely visual mix-up. cagar ([kaˈɣ̞aɾ]) and catar ([kaˈt̪aɾ]) 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 a single letter - g in “cagar” becomes t in “catar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40113, 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]. catar is at rank #33,482, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈt̪aɾ].

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 40113, this pair ranks #160,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cagar vs catar

Shared letters: acr. Private to "cagar": g. Private to "catar": t.

"cagar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "catar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagaracgar · caagr · cagarr · caggar · ccagar · cgaar
  • cataractar · caatr · catarr · cattar · ccatar · ctaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cagar" and "catar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [kaˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cagar" or "catar"?
"cagar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,631 in our Spanish list, against #33,482 for "catar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "catar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #160,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cagar" and "catar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "catar vs catre". 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

Confusion rank #160,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list