calóvscasoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,964
“caló” frequency rank
#157
“caso” frequency rank
37121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caló caso
Definition Lengua de contacto formada a partir del léxico romaní y la gramática española, usada por los gitanos de España, Portugal y el sur de Francia, y que ha influído en el argot, la germanía y el lenguaje informal de la península ibérica. Cada una de varias instancias consideradas como pertenecientes a un mismo tipo de situaciones o cosas (como los casos de una enfermedad, etc.).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caló and caso apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
caló
4 ch
caso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caló ([kaˈlo]) and caso ([ˈkaso]) 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 37121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caló is recorded at frequency rank #36,964, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈlo]. caso is at rank #157, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaso].

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 37121, this pair ranks #176,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caló vs caso

Shared letters: ac. Private to "caló": . Private to "caso": os.

"caló" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "caso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • casoacso · casso · ccaso · csao

Frequency comparison

caló#36,964
caso#157

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caló" and "caso" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈlo] versus [ˈkaso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caló" or "caso"?
"caso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #157 in our Spanish list, against #36,964 for "caló". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caló vs caso

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caló” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list