callarvscargarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,765
“callar” frequency rank
#4,978
“cargar” frequency rank
13743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature callar cargar
Definition No emitir ningún sonido vocal, también por medio de la voz y por escrito. Juntar y disponer los objetos sobre una persona o animal para su transporte.

Where the eye mixes callar and cargar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
callar
6 ch
cargar

Look-alike desk: callar vs cargar

A purely visual mix-up. callar ([kaˈʝaɾ]) and cargar ([kaɾˈɣ̞aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13743, 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]. cargar is at rank #4,978, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaɾˈɣ̞aɾ].

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 13743, this pair ranks #286,713 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of callar vs cargar

Shared letters: acr. Private to "callar": l. Private to "cargar": g.

"callar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cargar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • callaracllar · calalr · callarr · callra · ccallar · clalar
  • cargaracrgar · cagrar · caragr · cargarr · carggar · cargra · carrgar · ccargar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "callar" for "cargar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈʝaɾ] versus [kaɾˈɣ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "callar" vs "cargar" - which ranks higher?
"cargar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,978 in our Spanish list, against #8,765 for "callar". 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 "callar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cargar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #286,713 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "callar" and "cargar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "callar vs callaron". 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 #286,713 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