calmarvscalmateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,798
“calmar” frequency rank
#30,795
“calmate” frequency rank
41593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calmar calmate
Definition Llevar la calma, tranquilidad, sosiego a alguien o algo. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de calmarse (con el pronombre enclítico).

Where the eye mixes calmar and calmate

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

6 ch
calmar
7 ch
calmate

Look-alike desk: calmar vs calmate

A purely visual mix-up. calmar ([kalˈmaɾ]) and calmate ([kalˈmat̪e]) 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 41593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calmar is recorded at frequency rank #10,798, classified as averb, pronounced [kalˈmaɾ]. calmate is at rank #30,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [kalˈmat̪e].

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 41593, this pair ranks #152,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of calmar vs calmate

Shared letters: aclm. Private to "calmar": r. Private to "calmate": et.

"calmar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "calmate" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calmaraclmar · calamr · callmar · calmarr · calmmar · calmra · camlar · ccalmar
  • calmateaclmate · calamte · callmate · calmaet · calmatte · calmmate · calmtae · camlate

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calmar" and "calmate" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kalˈmaɾ] versus [kalˈmat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calmar" or "calmate"?
"calmar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,798 in our Spanish list, against #30,795 for "calmate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "calmar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "calmate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #152,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calmar" and "calmate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calmate vs camote". 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 #152,834 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