caívschWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#11,538
“caí” frequency rank
#10,997
“ch” frequency rank
22535
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caí ch
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de caer o de caerse. Dígrafo que fue considerado cuarta letra del alfabeto español entre 1803 y 2010. Su nombre es che y generalmente representa un sonido consonante africado postalveolar sordo.

Where the eye mixes caí and ch

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
caí
2 ch
ch

Look-alike desk: caí vs ch

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caí is [kaˈi] while ch is [ˈt͡ʃe]. 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 character), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22535, 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]. ch is at rank #10,997, tagged as acharacter, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃe].

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 22535, this pair ranks #249,877 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caí vs ch

Shared letters: c. Private to "caí": . Private to "ch": h.

"caí" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "ch" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "caí" and "ch" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caí" is a verb and "ch" a character, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "caí" vs "ch" - which ranks higher?
"ch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,997 in our Spanish list, against #11,538 for "caí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,877 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caí" and "ch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caí vs cuc". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #249,877 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