Which to use
“caoba” and “cobra” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,450
- “caoba” frequency rank
- #6,043
- “cobra” frequency rank
- 42493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caoba | cobra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (género Swietenia) Árbol de la familia Meliaceae, natural de América, de hasta 20 metros de altura, tronco corpulento y recto del que brotan a cierta altura un gran número de ramas, hojas compuestas, flores pequeñas y blancas, y fruto capsular. Su madera es muy estimada. | Nombre común de un grupo de serpientes venenosas de la familia de los elápidos (Elapidae), conocidas por su aspecto amenazante y su mordedura. En general, se alimentan de roedores y aves a las que matan inyectándoles una neurotoxina a través de los colmillos. |
Where the eye mixes caoba and cobra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caoba (CVVCV) and cobra (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses caoba with cobra
A purely visual mix-up. caoba ([kaˈoβ̞a]) and cobra ([ˈkoβ̞ɾa]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caoba is recorded at frequency rank #36,450, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈoβ̞a]. cobra is at rank #6,043, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkoβ̞ɾa].
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 42493, this pair ranks #147,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caoba vs cobra
Shared letters: abco. Private to "caoba": -. Private to "cobra": r.
"caoba" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caoba" for "cobra" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "caoba" or "cobra" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "caoba" and "cobra" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "caoba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cobra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caoba" and "cobra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caoba vs ceba". 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 #147,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.