callesvscaucesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,133
“calles” frequency rank
#26,751
“cauces” frequency rank
27884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calles cauces
Definition Forma del plural de calle. Forma del plural de cauce.

Where the eye mixes calles and cauces

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

6 ch
calles
6 ch
cauces

Visual trap between calles and cauces

A purely visual mix-up. calles ([ˈkaʝes]) and cauces ([ˈkawses]) 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 27884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calles is recorded at frequency rank #1,133, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʝes]. cauces is at rank #26,751, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkawses].

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 27884, this pair ranks #224,688 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of calles vs cauces

Shared letters: aces. Private to "calles": l. Private to "cauces": u.

"calles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cauces" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • callesaclles · calels · cales · calless · callse · ccalles · clales
  • caucesacuces · cacues · caucces · caucess · caucse · cauecs · causes · ccauces

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "calles" for "cauces" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaʝes] versus [ˈkawses]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calles" or "cauces"?
"calles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,133 in our Spanish list, against #26,751 for "cauces". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "calles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cauces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #224,688 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calles" and "cauces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cagues vs cauces". 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 #224,688 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