Which to use
“cards” is an unknown and “carry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,563
- “cards” frequency rank
- #38,021
- “carry” frequency rank
- 59584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cards | carry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural von card | tragen |
Where the eye mixes cards and carry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cards with carry
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cards is [kɑːds] while carry is [ˈkæɹi]. 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 (unknown vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cards is recorded at frequency rank #21,563, classified as anunknown, pronounced [kɑːds]. carry is at rank #38,021, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkæɹi].
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 59584, this pair ranks #819,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cards vs carry
Shared letters: acr. Private to "cards": ds. Private to "carry": y.
"cards" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "carry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cards" and "carry" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cards" vs "carry" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cards" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "carry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #819,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cards" and "carry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carr vs carry". 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 #819,080 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.