chamovsclavoTell them apart

Which to use

“chamo” and “clavo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,147
“chamo” frequency rank
#9,776
“clavo” frequency rank
36923
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chamo clavo
Definition Ser humano de corta edad, en especial el que no ha llegado a la pubertad 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 chamo and clavo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
chamo
5 ch
clavo

Look-alike desk: chamo vs clavo

A purely visual mix-up. chamo ([ˈt͡ʃamo]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chamo is recorded at frequency rank #27,147, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃamo]. 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 36923, this pair ranks #178,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chamo vs clavo

Shared letters: aco. Private to "chamo": hm. Private to "clavo": lv.

"chamo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chamocahmo · cchamo · chammo · chaom · chhamo · chmao · hcamo
  • clavocclavo · clabo · claov · clavvo · cllavo · clvao · lcavo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "chamo" for "clavo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡ʃamo] versus [ˈklaβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chamo" or "clavo"?
"clavo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,776 in our Spanish list, against #27,147 for "chamo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "chamo" 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 #178,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "chamo" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chamo vs Chasco". 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 #178,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list