caívscatsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#11,538
“caí” frequency rank
#47,632
“cats” frequency rank
59170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caí cats
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de caer o de caerse. Forma del plural de cat.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caí and cats apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
caí
4 ch
cats

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caí is [kaˈi] while cats is /kæts/. 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 59170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caí is recorded at frequency rank #11,538, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈi]. cats is at rank #47,632, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kæts/.

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 59170, this pair ranks #63,659 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caí vs cats

Shared letters: ac. Private to "caí": í. Private to "cats": st.

"caí" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "cats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • catsacts · catss · catts · ccats · ctas

Frequency comparison

caí#11,538
cats#47,632

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caí" and "cats" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caí" is a verb and "cats" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caí" or "cats"?
"caí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,538 in our Spanish list, against #47,632 for "cats". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caí vs cats

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “caí”; for a noun, it's “cats”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caí” 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