statesvsstokesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,678
“states” frequency rank
#44,945
“stokes” frequency rank
59623
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature states stokes
Definition Plural des Substantivs state 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stoke

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set states and stokes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
states
6 ch
stokes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: states is anoun and stokesaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

states is recorded at frequency rank #14,678, classified as anoun, pronounced [steits]. stokes is at rank #44,945, 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 59623, this pair ranks #817,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of states vs stokes

Shared letters: est. Private to "states": a. Private to "stokes": ko.

"states" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • statessattes · sstates · staets · statess · statse · stattes · sttaes · sttates
  • stokessotkes · sstokes · stkoes · stoeks · stokess · stokkes · stokse · sttokes

Frequency comparison

states#14,678
stokes#44,945

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "states" and "stokes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "states" is a noun and "stokes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "states" or "stokes"?
"states" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,678 in our German list, against #44,945 for "stokes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering states vs stokes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “states”; for a verb, it's “stokes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “states” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list