Which to use
“cases” and “crates” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #965
- “cases” frequency rank
- #20,077
- “crates” frequency rank
- 21042
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cases | crates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of case | plural of crate |
Where the eye mixes cases and crates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cases with crates
A purely visual mix-up. cases (/ˈkeɪsɪz/) and crates (/kɹeɪts/) 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 21042, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cases is recorded at frequency rank #965, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkeɪsɪz/. crates is at rank #20,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹeɪts/.
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 21042, this pair ranks #426,828 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cases vs crates
Shared letters: aces. Private to "cases": -. Private to "crates": rt.
"cases" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "crates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cases" and "crates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cases" or "crates"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,828 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cases" and "crates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cates vs crates". 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 #426,828 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.