Which to use
“callar” and “calló” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,765
- “callar” frequency rank
- #33,468
- “calló” frequency rank
- 42233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | callar | calló |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No emitir ningún sonido vocal, también por medio de la voz y por escrito. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de callar. |
Where the eye mixes callar and calló
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. callar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against calló's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between callar and calló
A purely visual mix-up. callar ([kaˈʝaɾ]) and calló ([kaˈʝo]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
callar is recorded at frequency rank #8,765, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈʝaɾ]. calló is at rank #33,468, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈʝo].
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 42233, this pair ranks #149,386 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of callar vs calló
Shared letters: acl. Private to "callar": r. Private to "calló": ó.
"callar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "calló" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- callar ← acllar · calalr · callarr · callra · ccallar · clalar
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "callar" and "calló" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "callar" or "calló" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "callar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "calló" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,386 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "callar" and "calló" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calco vs calló". 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 #149,386 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.