Which to use
“says” and “stay” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,888
- “says” frequency rank
- #19,048
- “stay” frequency rank
- 63936
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | says | stay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs say | bleiben |
Letter map: says vs stay
Shared letters muted; letters that set says and stay apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & dictionary notes on says vs stay
says and stay are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
says is recorded at frequency rank #44,888, classified as averb, pronounced [sɛz]. stay is at rank #19,048, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 63936, this pair ranks #659,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of says vs stay
Shared letters: asy. Private to "says": -. Private to "stay": t.
"says" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "stay" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "says" and "stay" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "says" vs "stay" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "says" and "stay".
- Full dictionary entry for "says" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #659,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "says" and "stay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "says vs SUVs". 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 #659,136 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.