Which to use
“cáncer” is a noun and “canse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,844
- “cáncer” frequency rank
- #27,131
- “canse” frequency rank
- 28975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cáncer | canse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enfermedad en la que las células de varios tejidos del cuerpo inician una proliferación descontrolada y con frecuencia veloz. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de cansar o de cansarse. |
Where the eye mixes cáncer and canse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cáncer runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against canse's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cáncer and canse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cáncer is [ˈkãnseɾ] while canse is [ˈkãnse]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cáncer is recorded at frequency rank #1,844, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkãnseɾ]. canse is at rank #27,131, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkãnse].
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 28975, this pair ranks #219,318 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cáncer vs canse
Shared letters: cen. Private to "cáncer": rá. Private to "canse": as.
"cáncer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "canse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- canse ← acnse · cance · cansse · casne · ccanse · cnase
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cáncer" for "canse" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cáncer" or "canse" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cáncer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "canse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,318 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cáncer" and "canse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "canse vs catre". 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 #219,318 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.