Which to use
“scratch” is a verb and “set” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,485
- “scratch” frequency rank
- #3,995
- “set” frequency rank
- 47480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scratch | set |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kratzen | Kardinalzahl zwischen sechs und acht |
Letter map: scratch vs set
Shared letters muted; letters that set scratch and set apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Part-of-speech tell for scratch / set
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: scratch is averb and setanum. On the page they differ by 4 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scratch is recorded at frequency rank #43,485, classified as averb, pronounced […]. set is at rank #3,995, tagged as anum, 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 47480, this pair ranks #1,282,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scratch vs set
Shared letters: st. Private to "scratch": achr. Private to "set": e.
"scratch" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC · "set" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scratch ← csratch · scartch · sccratch · scracth · scratcch · scratchh · scrathc · scrattch
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scratch" for "set" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scratch" or "set"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "scratch" and "set". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "scratch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "set" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,282,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scratch" and "set" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs scratch". 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 #1,282,766 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.