clarasvsclavesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,485
“claras” frequency rank
#5,474
“claves” frequency rank
9959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature claras claves
Definition Momento en que comienza a ser visible la luz del día. Forma del plural de clave.

Where the eye mixes claras and claves

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
claras
6 ch
claves

Why the eye confuses claras with claves

A purely visual mix-up. claras ([ˈklaɾas]) and claves ([ˈklaβ̞es]) 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 9959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

claras is recorded at frequency rank #4,485, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaɾas]. claves is at rank #5,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞es].

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 9959, this pair ranks #300,295 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of claras vs claves

Shared letters: acls. Private to "claras": r. Private to "claves": ev.

"claras" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "claves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clarascalras · cclaras · claars · clarass · clarras · clarsa · cllaras · clraas
  • clavescalves · cclaves · clabes · claevs · clavess · clavse · clavves · cllaves

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "claras" for "claves" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaɾas] versus [ˈklaβ̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "claras" or "claves" show up more?
"claras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,485 in our Spanish list, against #5,474 for "claves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "claras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "claves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #300,295 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "claras" and "claves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "canes vs claves". 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 #300,295 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