callavscamaWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#8,764
“calla” frequency rank
#1,134
“cama” frequency rank
9898
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calla cama
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de callar o de callarse. Mueble que sirve para recostarse sobre él para dormir.

Where the eye mixes calla and cama

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
calla
4 ch
cama

Why the eye confuses calla with cama

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calla is [ˈkaʝa] while cama is [ˈkama]. 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 9898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calla is recorded at frequency rank #8,764, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʝa]. cama is at rank #1,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkama].

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 9898, this pair ranks #300,479 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of calla vs cama

Shared letters: ac. Private to "calla": l. Private to "cama": m.

"calla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • callaaclla · calal · ccalla · clala
  • camaacma · caam · camma · ccama · cmaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "calla" and "cama" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calla" is a verb and "cama" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "calla" or "cama" show up more?
"cama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,134 in our Spanish list, against #8,764 for "calla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "calla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cama" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #300,479 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calla" and "cama" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calco vs calla". 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 #300,479 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