chavosvschivosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,941
“chavos” frequency rank
#39,112
“chivos” frequency rank
65053
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chavos chivos
Definition (Sambucus ebulus) Hierba de la familia de las caprifoliáceas, crece hasta dos metros con tallos erectos; el fruto es una baya tóxica, de color negro, pequeña y globosa de 5 a 6mm de diámetro. Forma del plural de chivo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chavos and chivos apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chavos
6 ch
chivos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chavos ([ˈt͡ʃaβ̞os]) and chivos ([ˈt͡ʃiβ̞os]) 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 a single letter - a in “chavos” becomes i in “chivos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chavos is recorded at frequency rank #25,941, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃaβ̞os]. chivos is at rank #39,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃiβ̞os].

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 65053, this pair ranks #43,773 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chavos vs chivos

Shared letters: chosv. Private to "chavos": a. Private to "chivos": i.

"chavos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "chivos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chavoscahvos · cchavos · chabos · chaovs · chavoss · chavso · chavvos · chhavos
  • chivoscchivos · chhivos · chibos · chiovs · chivoss · chivso · chivvos · chvios

Frequency comparison

chavos#25,941
chivos#39,112

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chavos" and "chivos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡ʃaβ̞os] versus [ˈt͡ʃiβ̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chavos" or "chivos"?
"chavos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,941 in our Spanish list, against #39,112 for "chivos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chavos vs chivos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chavos” 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