cagasvscaíanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,591
“cagas” frequency rank
#22,295
“caían” frequency rank
42886
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagas caían
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de cagar o de cagarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de caer o de caerse.

Where the eye mixes cagas and caían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cagas (CVCVC) and caían (CVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
cagas
5 ch
caían

Look-alike desk: cagas vs caían

A purely visual mix-up. cagas ([ˈkaɣ̞as]) and caían ([kaˈiãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cagas is recorded at frequency rank #20,591, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaɣ̞as]. caían is at rank #22,295, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈiãn].

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 42886, this pair ranks #145,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cagas vs caían

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cagas": gs. Private to "caían": ní.

"cagas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "caían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cagas ← acgas · caags · cagass · caggas · cagsa · ccagas · cgaas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cagas" and "caían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaɣ̞as] versus [kaˈiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cagas" or "caían"?
"cagas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,591 in our Spanish list, against #22,295 for "caían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "cagas" and "caían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cagas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "caían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #145,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cagas" and "caían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caían vs coin". 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 #145,744 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