calarvscalóWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,601
“calar” frequency rank
#36,964
“caló” frequency rank
81565
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calar caló
Definition Penetrar un líquido en un cuerpo permeable. Lengua de contacto formada a partir del léxico romaní y la gramática española, usada por los gitanos de España, Portugal y el sur de Francia, y que ha influído en el argot, la germanía y el lenguaje informal de la península ibérica.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calar and caló apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
calar
4 ch
caló

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calar is [kaˈlaɾ] while caló is [kaˈlo]. 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 81565, 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]. caló is at rank #36,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈlo].

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 81565, this pair ranks #10,268 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calar vs caló

Shared letters: acl. Private to "calar": r. Private to "caló": ó.

"calar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "caló" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calaraclar · caalr · calarr · ccalar

Frequency comparison

calar#44,601
caló#36,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calar" and "caló" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calar" is a verb and "caló" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calar" or "caló"?
"caló" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,964 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.

Remembering calar vs caló

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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