captavscateConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#20,299
“capta” frequency rank
#38,559
“cate” frequency rank
58858
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capta cate
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de captar. Suspenso de un test, examen o asignatura.

Where the eye mixes capta and cate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
capta
4 ch
cate

Look-alike desk: capta vs cate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: capta is [ˈkapt̪a] while cate is [ˈkat̪e]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58858, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capta is recorded at frequency rank #20,299, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkapt̪a]. cate is at rank #38,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat̪e].

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 58858, this pair ranks #64,877 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of capta vs cate

Shared letters: act. Private to "capta": p. Private to "cate": e.

"capta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • captaacpta · capat · cappta · captta · catpa · ccapta · cpata
  • cateacte · caet · catte · ccate · ctae

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "capta" and "cate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "capta" is a verb and "cate" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "capta" vs "cate" - which ranks higher?
"capta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,299 in our Spanish list, against #38,559 for "cate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "capta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #64,877 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "capta" and "cate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cate 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 #64,877 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