Which to use
“cárcel” and “caries” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,503
- “cárcel” frequency rank
- #30,799
- “caries” frequency rank
- 32302
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cárcel | caries |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Establecimiento destinado al alojamiento de los penados a privación de libertad | Destrucción progresiva del diente por la acción de bacterias presentes en la placa dental. |
Where the eye mixes cárcel and caries
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cárcel vs caries
A purely visual mix-up. cárcel ([ˈkaɾsel]) and caries ([ˈkaɾjes]) 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 32302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cárcel is recorded at frequency rank #1,503, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾsel]. caries is at rank #30,799, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾjes].
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 32302, this pair ranks #202,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cárcel vs caries
Shared letters: cer. Private to "cárcel": lá. Private to "caries": ais.
"cárcel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "caries" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- caries ← acries · caires · careis · cariess · carise · carries · ccaries · craies
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cárcel" for "caries" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cárcel" or "caries"?
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 "cárcel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "caries" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cárcel" and "caries" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caries vs Curie". 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 #202,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.