callavscapillaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,764
“calla” frequency rank
#5,927
“capilla” frequency rank
14691
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calla capilla
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de callar o de callarse. Edificio contiguo a una iglesia, o parte integrante de ella, con altar y advocación particular.

Where the eye mixes calla and capilla

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
calla
7 ch
capilla

Look-alike desk: calla vs capilla

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calla is [ˈkaʝa] while capilla is [kaˈpiʝa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 14691, 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]. capilla is at rank #5,927, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈpiʝa].

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 14691, this pair ranks #283,142 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of calla vs capilla

Shared letters: acl. Private to "calla": -. Private to "capilla": ip.

"calla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "capilla" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • callaaclla · calal · ccalla · clala
  • capillaacpilla · caiplla · capila · capilal · caplila · cappilla · ccapilla · cpailla

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "calla" for "capilla" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calla" is a verb and "capilla" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calla" or "capilla"?
"capilla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,927 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

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "calla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "capilla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #283,142 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calla" and "capilla" 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 #283,142 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