carovscravoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caro is a adjective, cravo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caro” is an adjective and “cravo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,178
“caro” frequency rank
#18,554
“cravo” frequency rank
20732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caro cravo
Definition cujo preço é elevado a planta craveiro; a flor do craveiro

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caro and cravo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
caro
5 ch
cravo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: caro is anadjective and cravoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caro is recorded at frequency rank #2,178, classified as anadj. cravo is at rank #18,554, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɾa.vu/.

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 20732, this pair ranks #49,705 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caro vs cravo

Shared letters: acor. Private to "caro": -. Private to "cravo": v.

"caro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cravo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caroacro · caor · ccaro · crao
  • cravocarvo · ccravo · craov · cravvo · crravo · crvao · rcavo

Frequency comparison

caro#2,178
cravo#18,554

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caro" and "cravo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caro" is an adjective and "cravo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caro" or "cravo"?
"caro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,178 in our Portuguese list, against #18,554 for "cravo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caro vs cravo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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