Which to use
“state” is an adjective and “stay” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,114
- “state” frequency rank
- #19,048
- “stay” frequency rank
- 26162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | state | stay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf den Staat bezogen: staatlich | bleiben |
Letter map: state vs stay
Shared letters muted; letters that set state and stay apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Role in the sentence - state and stay
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: state is anadjective and stayaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
state is recorded at frequency rank #7,114, classified as anadj, pronounced [steit]. 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 26162, this pair ranks #1,822,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of state vs stay
Shared letters: ast. Private to "state": e. Private to "stay": y.
"state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "stay" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "state" for "stay" ever safe?
Which is more common, "state" or "stay"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "state" and "stay".
- Full dictionary entry for "state" 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 #1,822,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "state" and "stay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs stay". 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 #1,822,214 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.