Which to use
“caries” and “cauces” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,799
- “caries” frequency rank
- #26,751
- “cauces” frequency rank
- 57550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caries | cauces |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Destrucción progresiva del diente por la acción de bacterias presentes en la placa dental. | Forma del plural de cauce. |
Where the eye mixes caries and cauces
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caries (CVCVVC) and cauces (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between caries and cauces
A purely visual mix-up. caries ([ˈkaɾjes]) and cauces ([ˈkawses]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caries is recorded at frequency rank #30,799, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɾjes]. 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 57550, this pair ranks #70,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caries vs cauces
Shared letters: aces. Private to "caries": ir. Private to "cauces": u.
"caries" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "cauces" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "caries" and "cauces" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "caries" or "cauces"?
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 "caries" 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 #70,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caries" and "cauces" 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 #70,059 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.