caguesvscanesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#43,437
“cagues” frequency rank
#42,315
“canes” frequency rank
85752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cagues canes
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de cagar o de cagarse. Forma del plural de can.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cagues and canes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cagues
5 ch
canes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cagues is [ˈkaɣ̞es] while canes is [ˈkanes]. 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 85752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cagues is recorded at frequency rank #43,437, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaɣ̞es]. canes is at rank #42,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkanes].

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 85752, this pair ranks #5,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cagues vs canes

Shared letters: aces. Private to "cagues": gu. Private to "canes": n.

"cagues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "canes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caguesacgues · cageus · caggues · caguess · caguse · cauges · ccagues · cgaues
  • canesacnes · caens · caness · ccanes · cnaes

Frequency comparison

cagues#43,437
canes#42,315

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cagues" and "canes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cagues" is a verb and "canes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cagues" or "canes"?
"canes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,315 in our Spanish list, against #43,437 for "cagues". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cagues vs canes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cagues”; for a noun, it's “canes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cagues” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list