English homophones
rode/rowed
"rode" (#8,198 written frequency) beats "rowed" (#38,141) in this 2-word /ɹəʊd/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /ɹəʊd/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "rode" leads at #8,198, with "rowed" trailing at #38,141.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "ro" then splits - "rode" (4 letters) vs "rowed" (5).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across rode, rowed: deor. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
rode
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVCV
Inventory deor · no private letters vs siblings
rowed
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVCVC
Inventory deorw · private w
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "rode" when you mean: simple past of ride
- Write "rowed" when you mean: simple past and past participle of row
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (rode, rowed). Here's where to go from here.
- "rode" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #8,198 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: raja · rajah. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "rode, rowed" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.