Which to use
“Daleks” and “dales” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,748
- “Daleks” frequency rank
- #36,098
- “dales” frequency rank
- 66846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Daleks | dales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of Dalek | plural of dale |
Where the eye mixes Daleks and dales
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Daleks runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against dales's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Daleks vs dales
A purely visual mix-up. Daleks (/ˈdɑːlɛks/) and dales (/deɪlz/) 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 66846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Daleks is recorded at frequency rank #30,748, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɑːlɛks/. dales is at rank #36,098, tagged as anoun, pronounced /deɪlz/.
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 66846, this pair ranks #66,148 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Daleks vs dales
Shared letters: adels. Private to "Daleks": k. Private to "dales": -.
"Daleks" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "dales" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Daleks" and "dales" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Daleks" or "dales"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Daleks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,148 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Daleks" and "dales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dales vs dikes". 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 #66,148 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.