Which to use
“cave” is a verb and “clave” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,485
- “cave” frequency rank
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- 35886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cave | clave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de cavar. | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. |
Where the eye mixes cave and clave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cave with clave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cave is [ˈkaβ̞e] while clave is [ˈklaβ̞e]. 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 35886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cave is recorded at frequency rank #34,485, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaβ̞e]. clave is at rank #1,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞e].
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 35886, this pair ranks #183,629 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cave vs clave
Shared letters: acev. Private to "cave": -. Private to "clave": l.
"cave" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cave" and "clave" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cave" or "clave"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cave" and "clave" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #183,629 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cave" and "clave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "catre vs cave". 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 #183,629 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.