Which to use
“cata” is a noun and “cavar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,681
- “cata” frequency rank
- #23,601
- “cavar” frequency rank
- 55282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cata | cavar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | busca | abrir ou revolver a terra com enxada ou sacho; escavar; sachar |
Where the eye mixes cata and cavar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cata runs 4 letters (CVCV) against cavar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cata and cavar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cata is /ˈka.tɐ/ while cavar is /kɐ.ˈvaɾ/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cata is recorded at frequency rank #31,681, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.tɐ/. 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 55282, this pair ranks #10,690 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cata vs cavar
Shared letters: ac. Private to "cata": t. Private to "cavar": rv.
"cata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cata" for "cavar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cata" or "cavar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cata" 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 #10,690 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cata" and "cavar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cata vs copta". 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 #10,690 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.