Which to use
“calló” is a verb and “cayo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,468
- “calló” frequency rank
- #8,772
- “cayo” frequency rank
- 42240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calló | cayo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de callar. | Tipo de isla pequeña que se encuentra en el Golfo de México y mar de las Antillas, con suelo arenoso, de muy poca elevación sobre el nivel del mar, por lo que suele inundarse con las mareas altas y tormentas; a menudo tiene manglares. |
Same sound, different letters: calló vs cayo
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - calló and cayo
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: calló and cayo carry the same recorded pronunciation, [kaˈʝo]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
calló is recorded at frequency rank #33,468, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈʝo]. cayo is at rank #8,772, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʝo].
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 42240, this pair ranks #149,343 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of calló vs cayo
Shared letters: ac. Private to "calló": ló. Private to "cayo": oy.
"calló" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cayo" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cayo ← acyo · caoy · cayyo · ccayo · cyao
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "calló" and "cayo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "calló" or "cayo"?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "calló" / "cayo". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "calló" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cayo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,343 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calló" and "cayo" 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 #149,343 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.