chambavsclamaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chamba is a noun, clama is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chamba” is a noun and “clama” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,805
“chamba” frequency rank
#28,285
“clama” frequency rank
59090
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chamba clama
Definition Sucesión de casualidades que dan lugar a una situación propicia. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de clamar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chamba and clama apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chamba
5 ch
clama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chamba is [ˈt͡ʃãmba] while clama is [ˈklama]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chamba is recorded at frequency rank #30,805, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃãmba]. clama is at rank #28,285, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklama].

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 59090, this pair ranks #63,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chamba vs clama

Shared letters: acm. Private to "chamba": bh. Private to "clama": l.

"chamba" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "clama" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chambacahmba · cchamba · chabma · chamab · chambba · chammba · chamva · chhamba
  • clamacclama · claam · clamma · cllama · clmaa · lcama

Frequency comparison

chamba#30,805
clama#28,285

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chamba" and "clama" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chamba" is a noun and "clama" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chamba" or "clama"?
"clama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,285 in our Spanish list, against #30,805 for "chamba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chamba vs clama

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chamba”; for a verb, it's “clama”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chamba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list