Which to use
“caían” and “clavan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,295
- “caían” frequency rank
- #35,417
- “clavan” frequency rank
- 57712
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caían | clavan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de caer o de caerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de clavar o de clavarse. |
Where the eye mixes caían and clavan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: caían vs clavan
A purely visual mix-up. caían ([kaˈiãn]) and clavan ([ˈklaβ̞ãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caían is recorded at frequency rank #22,295, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈiãn]. clavan is at rank #35,417, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞ãn].
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 57712, this pair ranks #69,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caían vs clavan
Shared letters: acn. Private to "caían": í. Private to "clavan": lv.
"caían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "clavan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clavan ← calvan · cclavan · claavn · claban · clavann · clavna · clavvan · cllavan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caían" for "clavan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "caían" or "clavan" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "caían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caían" and "clavan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clavan vs clavaron". 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 #69,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.