capacesvscaucesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: capaces is a adjective, cauces is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“capaces” is an adjective and “cauces” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,384
“capaces” frequency rank
#26,751
“cauces” frequency rank
29135
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capaces cauces
Definition Forma del plural de capaz. Forma del plural de cauce.

Where the eye mixes capaces and cauces

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
capaces
6 ch
cauces

Look-alike desk: capaces vs cauces

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: capaces is [kaˈpases] while cauces is [ˈkawses]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capaces is recorded at frequency rank #2,384, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈpases]. cauces is at rank #26,751, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkawses].

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 29135, this pair ranks #218,510 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of capaces vs cauces

Shared letters: aces. Private to "capaces": p. Private to "cauces": u.

"capaces" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "cauces" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capacesacpaces · caapces · capacces · capacess · capacse · capaecs · capases · capcaes
  • caucesacuces · cacues · caucces · caucess · caucse · cauecs · causes · ccauces

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "capaces" and "cauces" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "capaces" is an adjective and "cauces" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "capaces" or "cauces" show up more?
"capaces" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,384 in our Spanish list, against #26,751 for "cauces". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "capaces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cauces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #218,510 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "capaces" and "cauces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cagues vs cauces". 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 #218,510 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list