Which to use
“calar” and “catar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,601
- “calar” frequency rank
- #33,482
- “catar” frequency rank
- 78083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calar | catar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Penetrar un líquido en un cuerpo permeable. | Probar algo con el sentido del gusto, especialmente los alimentos. |
Where the eye mixes calar and catar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. calar and catar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses calar with catar
A purely visual mix-up. calar ([kaˈlaɾ]) and catar ([kaˈt̪aɾ]) 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 a single letter - l in “calar” becomes t in “catar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78083, 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]. catar is at rank #33,482, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈt̪aɾ].
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 78083, this pair ranks #14,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of calar vs catar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "calar": l. Private to "catar": t.
"calar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "catar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "calar" for "catar" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "calar" or "catar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "calar" and "catar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "calar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "catar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calar" and "catar" 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 #14,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.