cancelenvscárcelesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cancelen is a verb, cárceles is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cancelen” is a verb and “cárceles” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,689
“cancelen” frequency rank
#9,437
“cárceles” frequency rank
50126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cancelen cárceles
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de cancelar. Forma del plural de cárcel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cancelen and cárceles apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
cancelen
8 ch
cárceles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cancelen is [kãnˈselẽn] while cárceles is [ˈkaɾseles]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cancelen is recorded at frequency rank #40,689, classified as averb, pronounced [kãnˈselẽn]. cárceles is at rank #9,437, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾseles].

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 50126, this pair ranks #104,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cancelen vs cárceles

Shared letters: cel. Private to "cancelen": an. Private to "cárceles": rsá.

"cancelen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "cárceles" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cancelenacncelen · cacnelen · canccelen · canceeln · cancelenn · cancellen · cancelne · cancleen

Frequency comparison

cancelen#40,689
cárceles#9,437

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cancelen" and "cárceles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cancelen" is a verb and "cárceles" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cancelen" or "cárceles"?
"cárceles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,437 in our Spanish list, against #40,689 for "cancelen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cancelen vs cárceles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cancelen”; for a noun, it's “cárceles”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cancelen” 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