clasesvsclavosWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#887
“clases” frequency rank
#16,289
“clavos” frequency rank
17176
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clases clavos
Definition Forma del plural de clase. Forma del plural de clavo.

Where the eye mixes clases and clavos

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

6 ch
clases
6 ch
clavos

Why the eye confuses clases with clavos

A purely visual mix-up. clases ([ˈklases]) and clavos ([ˈklaβ̞os]) 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 17176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clases is recorded at frequency rank #887, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklases]. clavos is at rank #16,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞os].

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 17176, this pair ranks #273,245 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of clases vs clavos

Shared letters: acls. Private to "clases": e. Private to "clavos": ov.

"clases" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "clavos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clasescalses · cclases · claces · claess · clasess · classes · cllases · clsaes
  • clavoscalvos · cclavos · clabos · claovs · clavoss · clavso · clavvos · cllavos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clases" and "clavos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklases] versus [ˈklaβ̞os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clases" or "clavos"?
"clases" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #887 in our Spanish list, against #16,289 for "clavos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "clases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "clavos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #273,245 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clases" and "clavos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chamos vs clavos". 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 #273,245 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