calmarvscausarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,798
“calmar” frequency rank
#4,308
“causar” frequency rank
15106
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calmar causar
Definition Llevar la calma, tranquilidad, sosiego a alguien o algo. Que produce la causa su efecto.

Where the eye mixes calmar and causar

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

6 ch
calmar
6 ch
causar

Visual trap between calmar and causar

A purely visual mix-up. calmar ([kalˈmaɾ]) and causar ([kawˈsaɾ]) 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 15106, 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]. causar is at rank #4,308, tagged as averb, pronounced [kawˈsaɾ].

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 15106, this pair ranks #281,494 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of calmar vs causar

Shared letters: acr. Private to "calmar": lm. Private to "causar": su.

"calmar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "causar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calmaraclmar · calamr · callmar · calmarr · calmmar · calmra · camlar · ccalmar
  • causarcasuar · cauasr · causarr · causra · caussar · ccausar · cuasar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "calmar" for "causar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kalˈmaɾ] versus [kawˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "calmar" or "causar" show up more?
"causar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,308 in our Spanish list, against #10,798 for "calmar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "calmar" and "causar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "calmar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "causar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #281,494 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "calmar" and "causar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calmar vs calmen". 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 #281,494 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