Which to use
“cale” and “cats” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,719
- “cale” frequency rank
- #31,281
- “cats” frequency rank
- 49000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cale | cats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | calço, cunha, escora, apoio | plural de cat |
Where the eye mixes cale and cats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cale with cats
A purely visual mix-up. cale (/kal/) and cats (/kæts/) 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 49000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cale is recorded at frequency rank #17,719, classified as anoun, pronounced /kal/. cats is at rank #31,281, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kæts/.
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 49000, this pair ranks #16,091 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cale vs cats
Shared letters: ac. Private to "cale": el. Private to "cats": st.
"cale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cale" for "cats" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cale" vs "cats" - which ranks higher?
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 "cale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,091 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cale" and "cats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cactus vs cats". 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 #16,091 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.