Which to use
“caber” and “cavar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,454
- “caber” frequency rank
- #23,601
- “cavar” frequency rank
- 41055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caber | cavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | poder ser contido em | abrir ou revolver a terra com enxada ou sacho; escavar; sachar |
Where the eye mixes caber and cavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between caber and cavar
A purely visual mix-up. caber (/kɐ.ˈbeɾ/) and cavar (/kɐ.ˈvaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caber is recorded at frequency rank #17,454, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈbeɾ/. cavar is at rank #23,601, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈvaɾ/.
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 41055, this pair ranks #24,956 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caber vs cavar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "caber": be. Private to "cavar": v.
"caber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "caber" and "cavar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "caber" or "cavar"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caber" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cavar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,956 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caber" and "cavar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cagão vs cavar". 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 #24,956 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.