Which to use
“cause” is a verb and “cauto” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,559
- “cause” frequency rank
- #44,034
- “cauto” frequency rank
- 59593
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cause | cauto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de causar. | Que actúa con reserva y sigilo para evitar posibles daños o inconvenientes |
Where the eye mixes cause and cauto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cause and cauto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cause is [ˈkawse] while cauto is [ˈkawt̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cause is recorded at frequency rank #15,559, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkawse]. cauto is at rank #44,034, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkawt̪o].
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 59593, this pair ranks #62,041 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cause vs cauto
Shared letters: acu. Private to "cause": es. Private to "cauto": ot.
"cause" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cauto" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cause" for "cauto" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cause" or "cauto"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "cause" and "cauto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cause" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cauto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,041 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cause" and "cauto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cart vs cauto". 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 #62,041 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.