considerablevsconsiderateWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“considerable” and “considerate” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,661
“considerable” frequency rank
#19,564
“considerate” frequency rank
24225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature considerable considerate
Definition Significant; worth considering. Consciously thoughtful and observant (often of other people and their rights, needs, feelings and comfort).

Where the eye mixes considerable and considerate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

12 ch
considerable
11 ch
considerate

Why the eye confuses considerable with considerate

A purely visual mix-up. considerable (/kənˈsɪdəɹəbl̩/) and considerate (/kənˈsɪdəɹət/) 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 24225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

considerable is recorded at frequency rank #4,661, classified as anadj, pronounced /kənˈsɪdəɹəbl̩/. considerate is at rank #19,564, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kənˈsɪdəɹət/.

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 24225, this pair ranks #403,554 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of considerable vs considerate

Shared letters: acdeinors. Private to "considerable": bl. Private to "considerate": t.

"considerable" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCCV  ·  "considerate" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • considerablecconsiderable · cnosiderable · conisderable · connsiderable · consdierable · considderable · considearble · considerabble
  • consideratecconsiderate · cnosiderate · conisderate · connsiderate · consdierate · considderate · considearte · consideraet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "considerable" and "considerate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kənˈsɪdəɹəbl̩/ versus /kənˈsɪdəɹət/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "considerable" or "considerate"?
"considerable" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,661 in our English list, against #19,564 for "considerate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "considerable" and "considerate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "considerable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "considerate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #403,554 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "considerable" and "considerate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confederate vs considerate". 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 #403,554 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list