Which to use
“chavos” and “clavo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,941
- “chavos” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “clavo” frequency rank
- 35717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chavos | clavo |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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 chavos and clavo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chavos with clavo
A purely visual mix-up. chavos ([ˈt͡ʃaβ̞os]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35717, 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]. 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 35717, this pair ranks #184,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chavos vs clavo
Shared letters: acov. Private to "chavos": hs. Private to "clavo": l.
"chavos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chavos" for "clavo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chavos" vs "clavo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chavos" 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 #184,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chavos" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chavos vs cholos". 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 #184,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.