Which to use
“capes” and “casks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,860
- “capes” frequency rank
- #41,038
- “casks” frequency rank
- 69898
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capes | casks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cape | plural of cask |
Where the eye mixes capes and casks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. capes (CVCVC) and casks (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses capes with casks
A purely visual mix-up. capes (/keɪps/) and casks (/kɑːsks/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capes is recorded at frequency rank #28,860, classified as anoun, pronounced /keɪps/. casks is at rank #41,038, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɑːsks/.
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 69898, this pair ranks #52,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of capes vs casks
Shared letters: acs. Private to "capes": ep. Private to "casks": k.
"capes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "casks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "capes" for "casks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "capes" vs "casks" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "capes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "casks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capes" and "casks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "casks vs cates". 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 #52,692 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.