Which to use
“altar” and “atari” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,562
- “altar” frequency rank
- #29,546
- “atari” frequency rank
- 39108
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | altar | atari |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites. | A move that threatens the immediate capture of one or more stones. |
Where the eye mixes altar and atari
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between altar and atari
A purely visual mix-up. altar (/ˈɒl.tə/) and atari (/əˈtɑːˌɹi/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
altar is recorded at frequency rank #9,562, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɒl.tə/. atari is at rank #29,546, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈtɑːˌɹi/.
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 39108, this pair ranks #279,762 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of altar vs atari
Shared letters: art. Private to "altar": l. Private to "atari": i.
"altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atari" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "altar" and "atari" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "altar" vs "atari" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "altar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atari" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,762 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "altar" and "atari" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Amari vs atari". 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 #279,762 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.