Which to use
“carrera” is a noun and “cayera” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #682
- “carrera” frequency rank
- #19,052
- “cayera” frequency rank
- 19734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | carrera | cayera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Competición atlética consistente en recorrer una distancia determinada en un tiempo inferior al empleado por los demás participantes. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo de caer o de caerse. |
Where the eye mixes carrera and cayera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between carrera and cayera
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: carrera is [kaˈreɾa] while cayera is [kaˈʝeɾa]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
carrera is recorded at frequency rank #682, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈreɾa]. cayera is at rank #19,052, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈʝeɾa].
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 19734, this pair ranks #262,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of carrera vs cayera
Shared letters: acer. Private to "carrera": -. Private to "cayera": y.
"carrera" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "cayera" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "carrera" and "cayera" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "carrera" or "cayera" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "carrera" and "cayera" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "carrera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cayera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "carrera" and "cayera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cayera vs cederá". 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 #262,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.