Which to use
“clava” is a noun and “clavar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,423
- “clava” frequency rank
- #22,608
- “clavar” frequency rank
- 47031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clava | clavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Palo toscamente labrado, como de un metro de largo, que va aumentando de diámetro desde la empuñadura hasta el extremo opuesto. | Introducir un objeto puntiagudo en un cuerpo, mediante presión o golpes. |
Where the eye mixes clava and clavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. clava runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against clavar's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: clava vs clavar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clava is [ˈklaβ̞a] while clavar is [klaˈβ̞aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “clava” sits inside “clavar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clava is recorded at frequency rank #24,423, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞a]. clavar is at rank #22,608, tagged as averb, pronounced [klaˈβ̞aɾ].
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 47031, this pair ranks #122,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clava vs clavar
Shared letters: aclv. Private to "clava": -. Private to "clavar": r.
"clava" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "clavar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clava" for "clavar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clava" vs "clavar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clava" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #122,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clava" and "clavar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clava vs Cova". 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 #122,363 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.