Which to use
“caro” is an adjective and “clavo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,306
- “caro” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “clavo” frequency rank
- 13082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caro | clavo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene un alto valor o costo; que excede mucho del valor o estimación regular. | Pequeña barra de metal delgada y puntiaguda, que se inserta en tablas, paredes y tabiques con un martillo, con el propósito de sujetar o pegar. |
Where the eye mixes caro and clavo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: caro vs clavo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caro is [ˈkaɾo] while clavo is [ˈklaβ̞o]. 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 13082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caro is recorded at frequency rank #3,306, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaɾo]. clavo is at rank #9,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞o].
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 13082, this pair ranks #289,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of caro vs clavo
Shared letters: aco. Private to "caro": r. Private to "clavo": lv.
"caro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caro" and "clavo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "caro" or "clavo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "caro" and "clavo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "caro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #289,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caro" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Charo vs clavo". 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 #289,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.