Which to use
“cava” and “clavo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,946
- “cava” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “clavo” frequency rank
- 29722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cava | clavo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cueva. | 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 cava and clavo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cava with clavo
A purely visual mix-up. cava ([ˈkaβ̞a]) and clavo ([ˈklaβ̞o]) 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 29722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cava is recorded at frequency rank #19,946, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞a]. 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 29722, this pair ranks #215,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cava vs clavo
Shared letters: acv. Private to "cava": -. Private to "clavo": lo.
"cava" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cava" and "clavo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cava" or "clavo" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cava" and "clavo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cava" 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 #215,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cava" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cava vs ceba". 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 #215,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.