capavscaspaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: capa is a verb, caspa is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“capa” is a verb and “caspa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,840
“capa” frequency rank
#42,827
“caspa” frequency rank
44667
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capa caspa
Definition terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo de capar doença cutânea caracterizada pela escamação excessiva de pele morta no couro cabeludo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capa and caspa apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
capa
5 ch
caspa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: capa is /ˈka.pɐ/ while caspa is /ˈkas.pɐ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capa is recorded at frequency rank #1,840, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈka.pɐ/. caspa is at rank #42,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkas.pɐ/.

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 44667, this pair ranks #20,773 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of capa vs caspa

Shared letters: acp. Private to "capa": -. Private to "caspa": s.

"capa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "caspa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capaacpa · caap · cappa · ccapa · cpaa
  • caspaacspa · capsa · casap · casppa · casspa · ccaspa · csapa

Frequency comparison

capa#1,840
caspa#42,827

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capa" and "caspa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "capa" is a verb and "caspa" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "capa" or "caspa"?
"capa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,840 in our Portuguese list, against #42,827 for "caspa". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering capa vs caspa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “capa”; for a noun, it's “caspa”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “capa” 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