calarvscalmarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,601
“calar” frequency rank
#10,798
“calmar” frequency rank
55399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calar calmar
Definition Penetrar un líquido en un cuerpo permeable. Llevar la calma, tranquilidad, sosiego a alguien o algo.

Where the eye mixes calar and calmar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
calar
6 ch
calmar

Visual trap between calar and calmar

A purely visual mix-up. calar ([kaˈlaɾ]) and calmar ([kalˈmaɾ]) 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 55399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calar is recorded at frequency rank #44,601, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈlaɾ]. calmar is at rank #10,798, tagged as averb, pronounced [kalˈmaɾ].

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 55399, this pair ranks #79,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calar vs calmar

Shared letters: aclr. Private to "calar": -. Private to "calmar": m.

"calar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "calmar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calaraclar · caalr · calarr · ccalar
  • calmaraclmar · calamr · callmar · calmarr · calmmar · calmra · camlar · ccalmar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calar" and "calmar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈlaɾ] versus [kalˈmaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "calar" vs "calmar" - which ranks higher?
"calmar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,798 in our Spanish list, against #44,601 for "calar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "calar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "calmar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #79,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calar" and "calmar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calar vs casará". 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 #79,080 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