camotevscateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,267
“camote” frequency rank
#38,559
“cate” frequency rank
86826
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature camote cate
Definition (Ipomoea batatas) Planta herbácea de la familia de las convolvuláceas, de origen latinoamericano y extensamente cultivada por su raíz tuberosa, empleada en gastronomía. Es una enredadera perenne, de hojas cordiformes o palmatilobuladas, alternas, pecioladas, y flores simpétalas, pentámeras, de buen tamaño y muy atractivas. La raíz es larga y fusiforme, con la piel pardorrojiza a púrpura, y pulpa similarmente variable. Cultivada en América desde la época precolombina, llegó a Europa en el siglo XVI y se ha difundido ampliamente en todo el mundo. Suspenso de un test, examen o asignatura.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set camote and cate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
camote
4 ch
cate

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. camote ([kaˈmot̪e]) and cate ([ˈkat̪e]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

camote is recorded at frequency rank #48,267, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈmot̪e]. cate is at rank #38,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat̪e].

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 86826, this pair ranks #4,993 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of camote vs cate

Shared letters: acet. Private to "camote": mo. Private to "cate": -.

"camote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "cate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • camoteacmote · cammote · camoet · camotte · camtoe · caomte · ccamote · cmaote
  • cateacte · caet · catte · ccate · ctae

Frequency comparison

camote#48,267
cate#38,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "camote" and "cate" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈmot̪e] versus [ˈkat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "camote" or "cate"?
"cate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,559 in our Spanish list, against #48,267 for "camote". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering camote vs cate

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 “camote” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list