carasvscatsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,104
“caras” frequency rank
#47,632
“cats” frequency rank
50736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caras cats
Definition Forma del femenino plural de caro. Forma del plural de cat.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caras and cats apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
caras
4 ch
cats

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caras is [ˈkaɾas] while cats is /kæts/. 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 50736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caras is recorded at frequency rank #3,104, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaɾas]. cats is at rank #47,632, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kæts/.

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 50736, this pair ranks #101,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caras vs cats

Shared letters: acs. Private to "caras": r. Private to "cats": t.

"caras" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "cats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • carasacras · caars · carass · carras · carsa · ccaras · craas
  • catsacts · catss · catts · ccats · ctas

Frequency comparison

caras#3,104
cats#47,632

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caras" and "cats" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caras" is an adjective and "cats" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caras" or "cats"?
"caras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,104 in our Spanish list, against #47,632 for "cats". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caras vs cats

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “caras”; for a noun, it's “cats”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caras” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list