Which to use
“cache” and “cate” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,382
- “cache” frequency rank
- #25,700
- “cate” frequency rank
- 38082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cache | cate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A store, protected and often hidden in some way, of things that may be required in the future, such that they can be retrieved rapidly. | A delicacy or item of food. |
Where the eye mixes cache and cate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cache with cate
A purely visual mix-up. cache (/kæʃ/) and cate (/keɪt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cache is recorded at frequency rank #12,382, classified as anoun, pronounced /kæʃ/. cate is at rank #25,700, tagged as anoun, pronounced /keɪt/.
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 38082, this pair ranks #288,979 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cache vs cate
Shared letters: ace. Private to "cache": h. Private to "cate": t.
"cache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cache" for "cate" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cache" or "cate"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #288,979 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cache" and "cate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cate vs CGT". 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 #288,979 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.