Which to use
“can't” and “cast” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #154
- “can't” frequency rank
- #1,686
- “cast” frequency rank
- 1840
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | can't | cast |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cannot (negative auxiliary); be unable to; not have the ability to (whether due to lacking relevant strength or skill or knowledge or supplies, or due to logical impossibility, etc). | To move, or be moved, away. |
Where the eye mixes can't and cast
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. can't (/kɑːnt/) and cast (/kɑːst/) 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 1840, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
can't is recorded at frequency rank #154, classified as averb, pronounced /kɑːnt/. cast is at rank #1,686, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɑːst/.
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 1840, this pair ranks #526,498 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of can't vs cast
Shared letters: act. Private to "can't": n. Private to "cast": s.
"can't" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cast ← acst · casst · castt · ccast · csat