Cumin is hotter to the taste, lighter in colour, and larger than caraway (Carum carvi), another umbelliferous spice that is sometimes confused with it. Many European languages do not distinguish clearly between the two. For example, in Czech caraway is called 'kmín' while cumin is called 'římský kmín' or "Roman caraway." The distinction is practically the same in Hungarian ("kömény" for caraway and "római kömény" [Roman caraway] for cumin). In Swedish, caraway is called "kummin" while cumin is "spiskummin", spis meaning "stove", while in German "Kümmel" stands for caraway and "Kreuzkümmel" denotes cumin. Some older cookbooks erroneously name ground coriander as the same spice as a ground cumin. [5]

The distantly related Bunium persicum and the unrelated Nigella sativa are both sometimes called black cumin (q.v.).