‘Cache’ and ‘Cash’ are two nouns that have a similar pronunciation. These kinds of words are called Homophones. A pair of homophones are words that sound similar but have different spellings and mean different things too.
In these two words, the digraphs ‘ch’ in the word ‘cache’ and ‘sh’ in cash have the sound ‘sh’ as in the word ‘ship’.
Key Takeaways
- Cash denotes physical currency, whereas cache is a temporary storage system for quick data retrieval.
- Cash serves as a medium of exchange in financial transactions, while cache improves computer performance.
- Counterfeit cash poses a risk in financial transactions; in contrast, the cache requires regular clearing to maintain optimal system functioning.
Cash vs Cache
The difference between the terms Cash and Cache are that Cash is a monetary term related to transactions and finance. On the other hand, ‘Cache’ is the temporary memory of software that is easier to access than the memory from the hard drive. A cache is a technology-related term. Both words have different meanings and spellings.
Cash is a term used to signify money physically available in hand and transactive in exchange for goods and services. The notes and coins available in hand come under cash.
It is a form of physical transaction of money, that can be carried or stored safely in households.
A cache is a technical term used to denote memory present in software or a device. It is the temporary duplicate of certain programs, applications, or files present in a device that can be easily accessed.
It is also known as CPU cache memory present in the CPU of the computer.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Cash | Cache |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | Ka-sh | Ka-sh / Ka-shey |
| Field of Study | Economics and finance | Information technology and computer science |
| Tactile status | One can touch it. | One can not touch it. |
| Found in | Wallets, banks, shops, and households. | Programming systems, devices, applications, and files |
| Uses | Exchange for goods and services. | Storage and easy retrieval of data memory |
What is Cash?
Cash can be definable as money present in physical form. The notes and coins present in hand constitute cash. It is one of the most common forms of a transaction to exchange goods and services.
Ever since the introduction of money, cash has been the first form of transaction. The nations all around the world made their own set of currencies which included coins and notes.
These were useful to pay merchants, vendors, and even the treasury in the form of tax.
Cash in today’s world also includes marketable securities, government bonds, or assets that can be convertible to cash on an immediate basis.
The storage and fear of carrying a large amount of money in cash or coins are worrisome. Hence, people are slowly diverting towards cashless transactions and online banking procedures to ensure safer transactions.
As compared to online payments and e-banking modes, cash doesn’t require any form of processing time. It is a direct transfer. In financial aspects, cash refers to the assets that a company possesses in a year that is easily convertible to forms of cash.
A cash flow statement is the list of all the transactions made in a year.
What is Cache?
A cache is a form of temporary memory that computers access first to retrieve information immediately. The processes and storage of a cache are much better and faster when compared to the functioning of other memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) in a computer.
However, since the storage memory in cache is limited, it’s not preferable to store old data in cache. The new and more essential data is stored successfully in it. The type of cache found in computers is known as CPU Cache.
A cache is not only found in computers or phones, but is also found in websites, applications, stored files, and much more. The prime function of cache is the storage of memory.
It also includes improving the speed of the programming system, saving data, and duplication of files.
While accessing memory or data in the computer, the device first accesses the cache. If the data from the cache is unretrievable, then the device proceeds to collect it from the RAM.
A ‘Cache Miss’ happens when the computer cannot access memory from the cache. The cache memory is expensive to obtain, hence it is used only by multinational companies or conglomerates.
Main Differences Between Cash and Cache
- Cash is an economic term used to define physical money, whereas a cache is a term used to denote the memory of a device, programming system, or phone application.
- Cash is a physical object that can be touchable, whereas a cache is an abstract concept.
- Cash and Cache are not related to each other in their respective fields of finance and technology.
- Cash can be transacted among people or businesses, whereas a cache is stored in systems.
- Cash can be found in banks, houses, and people daily, whereas a cache is found in memory storage devices or electronic gadgets.
- https://www.proquest.com/openview/a2b3ad9d9f0d1a65e6c9e16c355f0628/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=3330
- https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/005/2009/003/article-A001-en.xml
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1569529
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/48012.48037
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780127224428500690
Last Updated : 19 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
