calarvsclearWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: calar is a verb, clear is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#44,601
“calar” frequency rank
#36,980
“clear” frequency rank
81581
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calar clear
Definition Penetrar un líquido en un cuerpo permeable. Claro.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calar and clear apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
calar
5 ch
clear

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calar is [kaˈlaɾ] while clear is /klɪə(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81581, 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]. clear is at rank #36,980, tagged as anadj, pronounced /klɪə(ɹ)/.

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 81581, this pair ranks #10,244 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calar vs clear

Shared letters: aclr. Private to "calar": -. Private to "clear": e.

"calar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "clear" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calaraclar · caalr · calarr · ccalar
  • clearcclear · celar · claer · clearr · clera · cllear · lcear

Frequency comparison

calar#44,601
clear#36,980

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calar" and "clear" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calar" is a verb and "clear" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calar" or "clear"?
"clear" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,980 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 clear

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “calar”; for an adjective, it's “clear”.
  • 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