Which to use
“cavar” is a verb and “caviar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,673
- “cavar” frequency rank
- #25,936
- “caviar” frequency rank
- 54609
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cavar | caviar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Retirar la tierra para hacer un hoyo o una excavación. | Manjar de huevas de esturión u otro pescado, saladas para su conserva, que se considera una delicadeza gastronómica. |
Where the eye mixes cavar and caviar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cavar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against caviar's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cavar with caviar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cavar is [kaˈβ̞aɾ] while caviar is [kaˈβ̞jaɾ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cavar is recorded at frequency rank #28,673, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈβ̞aɾ]. caviar is at rank #25,936, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈβ̞jaɾ].
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 54609, this pair ranks #82,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cavar vs caviar
Shared letters: acrv. Private to "cavar": -. Private to "caviar": i.
"cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "caviar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cavar" for "caviar" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cavar" or "caviar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cavar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "caviar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #82,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cavar" and "caviar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cavar vs Cova". 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 #82,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.