cragvscraveWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: crag is a noun, crave is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“crag” is a noun and “crave” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,715
“crag” frequency rank
#15,595
“crave” frequency rank
60310
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature crag crave
Definition A rocky outcrop; a rugged steep cliff or rock. To desire strongly, so as to satisfy an appetite; to long or yearn for.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set crag and crave apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
crag
5 ch
crave

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: crag is /kɹæɡ/ while crave is /kɹeɪv/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60310, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

crag is recorded at frequency rank #44,715, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹæɡ/. crave is at rank #15,595, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɹeɪv/.

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 60310, this pair ranks #100,900 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of crag vs crave

Shared letters: acr. Private to "crag": g. Private to "crave": ev.

"crag" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "crave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cragccrag · cragg · crga · crrag · rcag
  • craveccrave · craev · cravve · crrave · crvae · rcave

Frequency comparison

crag#44,715
crave#15,595

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "crag" and "crave" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "crag" is a noun and "crave" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "crag" or "crave"?
"crave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,595 in our English list, against #44,715 for "crag". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering crag vs crave

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “crag”; for a verb, it's “crave”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “crag” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list