clavadovsclavarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: clavado is a adjective, clavar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“clavado” is an adjective and “clavar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,186
“clavado” frequency rank
#22,608
“clavar” frequency rank
40794
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clavado clavar
Definition Guarnecido o armado con clavos. Introducir un objeto puntiagudo en un cuerpo, mediante presión o golpes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clavado and clavar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
clavado
6 ch
clavar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clavado is [klaˈβ̞að̞o] while clavar is [klaˈβ̞aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clavado is recorded at frequency rank #18,186, classified as anadj, pronounced [klaˈβ̞að̞o]. 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 40794, this pair ranks #157,187 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clavado vs clavar

Shared letters: aclv. Private to "clavado": do. Private to "clavar": r.

"clavado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "clavar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clavadocalvado · cclavado · claavdo · clabado · clavaddo · clavaod · clavdao · clavvado
  • clavarcalvar · cclavar · claavr · clabar · clavarr · clavra · clavvar · cllavar

Frequency comparison

clavado#18,186
clavar#22,608

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clavado" and "clavar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "clavado" is an adjective and "clavar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "clavado" or "clavar"?
"clavado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,186 in our Spanish list, against #22,608 for "clavar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clavado vs clavar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “clavado”; for a verb, it's “clavar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clavado” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list