Which to use
“clava” and “clave” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,423
- “clava” frequency rank
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- 25824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clava | clave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Palo toscamente labrado, como de un metro de largo, que va aumentando de diámetro desde la empuñadura hasta el extremo opuesto. | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. |
Where the eye mixes clava and clave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clava and clave
A purely visual mix-up. clava ([ˈklaβ̞a]) and clave ([ˈklaβ̞e]) 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 “clava” becomes e in “clave”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25824, 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]. clave is at rank #1,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞e].
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 25824, this pair ranks #234,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clava vs clave
Shared letters: aclv. Private to "clava": -. Private to "clave": e.
"clava" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clava" for "clave" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clava" vs "clave" - which ranks higher?
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 "clava" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clava" and "clave" 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 #234,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.