clavelesvsclavesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,498
“claveles” frequency rank
#5,474
“claves” frequency rank
39972
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature claveles claves
Definition Forma del plural de clavel. Forma del plural de clave.

Where the eye mixes claveles and claves

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. claveles runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVC) against claves's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
claveles
6 ch
claves

Visual trap between claveles and claves

A purely visual mix-up. claveles ([klaˈβ̞eles]) and claves ([ˈklaβ̞es]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

claveles is recorded at frequency rank #34,498, classified as anoun, pronounced [klaˈβ̞eles]. claves is at rank #5,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞es].

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 39972, this pair ranks #161,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of claveles vs claves

Shared letters: acelsv. Private to "claveles": -. Private to "claves": -.

"claveles" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "claves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • claveles ← calveles · cclaveles · clabeles · claevles · claveels · claveless · clavelles · clavelse
  • claves ← calves · cclaves · clabes · claevs · clavess · clavse · clavves · cllaves

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "claveles" and "claves" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([klaˈβ̞eles] versus [ˈklaβ̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "claveles" vs "claves" - which ranks higher?
"claves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,474 in our Spanish list, against #34,498 for "claveles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "claveles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "claves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "claveles" and "claves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Clavel vs claveles". 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 #161,639 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