Which to use
“capaz” is an adjective and “cavar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,041
- “capaz” frequency rank
- #23,601
- “cavar” frequency rank
- 24642
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capaz | cavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que tem o conhecimento ou habilidade para fazer algo | abrir ou revolver a terra com enxada ou sacho; escavar; sachar |
Where the eye mixes capaz and cavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between capaz and cavar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: capaz is /kɐ.ˈpaʃ/ while cavar is /kɐ.ˈvaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capaz is recorded at frequency rank #1,041, classified as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈpaʃ/. 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 24642, this pair ranks #44,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of capaz vs cavar
Shared letters: ac. Private to "capaz": pz. Private to "cavar": rv.
"capaz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "capaz" and "cavar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "capaz" or "cavar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "capaz" 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 #44,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capaz" 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 #44,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.