castavscateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“casta” and “cate” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,994
“casta” frequency rank
#38,559
“cate” frequency rank
49553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature casta cate
Definition Grupo unido por una ascendencia común. Suspenso de un test, examen o asignatura.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
casta
4 ch
cate

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. casta ([ˈkast̪a]) and cate ([ˈkat̪e]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

casta is recorded at frequency rank #10,994, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkast̪a]. cate is at rank #38,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat̪e].

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 49553, this pair ranks #108,157 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of casta vs cate

Shared letters: act. Private to "casta": s. Private to "cate": e.

"casta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • castaacsta · casat · cassta · castta · catsa · ccasta · csata
  • cateacte · caet · catte · ccate · ctae

Frequency comparison

casta#10,994
cate#38,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "casta" and "cate" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkast̪a] versus [ˈkat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "casta" or "cate"?
"casta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,994 in our Spanish list, against #38,559 for "cate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering casta vs cate

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “casta” 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