Which to use
“caches” and “cates” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,159
- “caches” frequency rank
- #48,123
- “cates” frequency rank
- 81282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caches | cates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cache | Provisions; food; viands; especially, luxurious food; delicacies; dainties. |
Letter map: caches vs cates
Shared letters muted; letters that set caches and cates apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. caches runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against cates's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Spelling & dictionary notes on caches vs cates
caches and cates are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caches is recorded at frequency rank #33,159, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkæʃɪz/. cates is at rank #48,123, tagged as anoun.
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 81282, this pair ranks #18,005 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caches vs cates
Shared letters: aces. Private to "caches": h. Private to "cates": t.
"caches" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caches" and "cates" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "caches" vs "cates" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "caches" and "cates". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "caches" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,005 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caches" and "cates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cates vs catty". 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 #18,005 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.