calidadvscavidadConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#652
“calidad” frequency rank
#15,560
“cavidad” frequency rank
16212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calidad cavidad
Definition Condición o propiedad de alguna cosa que la hace valiosa o apreciable. Condición o carácter de cavo

Where the eye mixes calidad and cavidad

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. calidad and cavidad follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
calidad
7 ch
cavidad

Why the eye confuses calidad with cavidad

A purely visual mix-up. calidad ([kaliˈð̞að̞]) and cavidad ([kaβ̞iˈð̞að̞]) 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 “calidad” becomes v in “cavidad”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calidad is recorded at frequency rank #652, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaliˈð̞að̞]. cavidad is at rank #15,560, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaβ̞iˈð̞að̞].

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 16212, this pair ranks #277,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of calidad vs cavidad

Shared letters: acdi. Private to "calidad": l. Private to "cavidad": v.

"calidad" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "cavidad" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calidadaclidad · caildad · caldiad · caliadd · calidadd · calidda · caliddad · callidad
  • cavidadacvidad · cabidad · caivdad · cavdiad · caviadd · cavidadd · cavidda · caviddad

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "calidad" for "cavidad" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kaliˈð̞að̞] versus [kaβ̞iˈð̞að̞]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "calidad" vs "cavidad" - which ranks higher?
"calidad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #652 in our Spanish list, against #15,560 for "cavidad". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "calidad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cavidad" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #277,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calidad" and "cavidad" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calada vs calidad". 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 #277,059 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