Which to use
“cautivo” and “cautivos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,598
- “cautivo” frequency rank
- #24,057
- “cautivos” frequency rank
- 46655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cautivo | cautivos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que se encuentra privado de libertad. | Forma del plural de cautivo. |
Where the eye mixes cautivo and cautivos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cautivo runs 7 letters (CVVCVCV) against cautivos's 8 (CVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cautivo and cautivos
A purely visual mix-up. cautivo ([kawˈt̪iβ̞o]) and cautivos ([kawˈt̪iβ̞os]) 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 extra letter(s) - “cautivo” sits inside “cautivos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cautivo is recorded at frequency rank #22,598, classified as anadj, pronounced [kawˈt̪iβ̞o]. cautivos is at rank #24,057, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kawˈt̪iβ̞os].
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 46655, this pair ranks #124,523 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cautivo vs cautivos
Shared letters: aciotuv. Private to "cautivo": -. Private to "cautivos": s.
"cautivo" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "cautivos" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cautivo" for "cautivos" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cautivo" vs "cautivos" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cautivo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cautivos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #124,523 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cautivo" and "cautivos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cautivado vs cautivo". 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 #124,523 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.