cagarvscavaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#6,631
“cagar” frequency rank
#19,946
“cava” frequency rank
26577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagar cava
Definition Expulsar del cuerpo las heces de la digestión. Cueva.

Where the eye mixes cagar and cava

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

5 ch
cagar
4 ch
cava

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cagar is [kaˈɣ̞aɾ] while cava is [ˈkaβ̞a]. 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 26577, 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]. cava is at rank #19,946, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞a].

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 26577, this pair ranks #230,988 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cagar vs cava

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cagar": gr. Private to "cava": v.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagaracgar · caagr · cagarr · caggar · ccagar · cgaar
  • cavaacva · caav · cavva · ccava · cvaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cagar" and "cava" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cagar" is a verb and "cava" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cagar" or "cava"?
"cagar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,631 in our Spanish list, against #19,946 for "cava". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list