Which to use
“cancela” is a noun and “cancelar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,779
- “cancela” frequency rank
- #7,111
- “cancelar” frequency rank
- 23890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cancela | cancelar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Verjilla que se pone en el umbral de algunas casas para reservar el portal o zaguán del libre acceso del público. | Anular, deshacer una orden. |
Where the eye mixes cancela and cancelar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cancela runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against cancelar's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cancela vs cancelar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cancela is [kãnˈsela] while cancelar is [kãnseˈlaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “cancela” sits inside “cancelar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cancela is recorded at frequency rank #16,779, classified as anoun, pronounced [kãnˈsela]. cancelar is at rank #7,111, tagged as averb, pronounced [kãnseˈlaɾ].
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 23890, this pair ranks #243,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cancela vs cancelar
Shared letters: aceln. Private to "cancela": -. Private to "cancelar": r.
"cancela" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "cancelar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cancela" and "cancelar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cancela" vs "cancelar" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cancela" and "cancelar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cancela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cancelar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cancela" and "cancelar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cancela vs cancelo". 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 #243,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.