datavsdayWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#455
“data” frequency rank
#120
“day” frequency rank
575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature data day
Definition plural of datum The time when the Sun is above the horizon and it lights the sky.

Where the eye mixes data and day

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
data
3 ch
day

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. data (/ˈdɑː.tə/) and day (/deɪ̯/) 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 575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

data is recorded at frequency rank #455, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɑː.tə/. day is at rank #120, tagged as anoun, pronounced /deɪ̯/.

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 575, this pair ranks #529,175 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of data vs day

Shared letters: ad. Private to "data": t. Private to "day": y.

"data" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "day" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dataadta · daat · datta · ddata · dtaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "data" and "day" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdɑː.tə/ versus /deɪ̯/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "data" or "day"?
"day" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #120 in our English list, against #455 for "data". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list