Which to use
“cayos” and “clavos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,871
- “cayos” frequency rank
- #16,289
- “clavos” frequency rank
- 59160
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cayos | clavos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de cayo. | Forma del plural de clavo. |
Where the eye mixes cayos and clavos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cayos runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against clavos's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cayos with clavos
A purely visual mix-up. cayos ([ˈkaʝos]) and clavos ([ˈklaβ̞os]) 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 59160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cayos is recorded at frequency rank #42,871, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʝos]. clavos is at rank #16,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞os].
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 59160, this pair ranks #63,705 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cayos vs clavos
Shared letters: acos. Private to "cayos": y. Private to "clavos": lv.
"cayos" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "clavos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cayos" and "clavos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cayos" or "clavos" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cayos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,705 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cayos" and "clavos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cayos vs chamos". 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 #63,705 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.