Which to use
“clave” and “clavo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “clavo” frequency rank
- 11177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clave | clavo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. | Pequeña barra de metal delgada y puntiaguda, que se inserta en tablas, paredes y tabiques con un martillo, con el propósito de sujetar o pegar. |
Where the eye mixes clave and clavo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clave vs clavo
A purely visual mix-up. clave ([ˈklaβ̞e]) and clavo ([ˈklaβ̞o]) 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 - e in “clave” becomes o in “clavo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clave is recorded at frequency rank #1,401, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞e]. clavo is at rank #9,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞o].
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 11177, this pair ranks #296,016 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clave vs clavo
Shared letters: aclv. Private to "clave": e. Private to "clavo": o.
"clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "clavo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clave" and "clavo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "clave" or "clavo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,016 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clave" and "clavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Charo vs clavo". 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 #296,016 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.