Which to use
“cite” is a verb and “code” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,666
- “cite” frequency rank
- #863
- “code” frequency rank
- 12529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cite | code |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another. | A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents. |
Where the eye mixes cite and code
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cite is /saɪt/ while code is /kəʊd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cite is recorded at frequency rank #11,666, classified as averb, pronounced /saɪt/. code is at rank #863, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kəʊd/.
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 12529, this pair ranks #481,030 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cite vs code
Shared letters: ce. Private to "cite": it. Private to "code": do.
"cite" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV