darevsDatesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dare is a verb, Dates is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dare” is a verb and “Dates” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,517
“dare” frequency rank
#13,798
“Dates” frequency rank
58315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dare Dates
Definition es wagen, zu (+Infinitiv); den Mut haben, zu (+Infinitiv) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Date

Where the eye mixes dare and Dates

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
dare
5 ch
Dates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dare is [deə(ɹ)] while Dates is [deɪt͡s]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dare is recorded at frequency rank #44,517, classified as averb, pronounced [deə(ɹ)]. Dates is at rank #13,798, tagged as anoun, pronounced [deɪt͡s].

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 58315, this pair ranks #867,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dare vs Dates

Shared letters: ade. Private to "dare": r. Private to "Dates": st.

"dare" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • daredarre · ddare · drae
  • Datesadtes · daets · datess · datse · dattes · ddates · dtaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dare" and "Dates" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dare" is a verb and "Dates" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dare" or "Dates"?
"Dates" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,798 in our German list, against #44,517 for "dare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "dare" and "Dates". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #867,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dare" and "Dates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dare vs dörr". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list