Which to use
“delay” and “Derby” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,143
- “delay” frequency rank
- #8,343
- “Derby” frequency rank
- 36486
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delay | Derby |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Aufenthalt | jährlich stattfindende Pferderennen |
Where the eye mixes delay and Derby
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses delay with Derby
A purely visual mix-up. delay ([dɪˈleɪ]) and Derby ([ˈdɛʁbi]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delay is recorded at frequency rank #28,143, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɪˈleɪ]. Derby is at rank #8,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛʁbi].
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 36486, this pair ranks #1,614,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of delay vs Derby
Shared letters: dey. Private to "delay": al. Private to "Derby": br.
"delay" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "Derby" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "delay" for "Derby" ever safe?
Frequency check: "delay" vs "Derby" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "delay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Derby" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,614,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delay" and "Derby" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjà vs delay". 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 #1,614,429 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.