Which to use
“derive” and “driven” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,737
- “derive” frequency rank
- #2,787
- “driven” frequency rank
- 17524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | derive | driven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To obtain or receive (something) from something else. | past participle of drive |
Where the eye mixes derive and driven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: derive vs driven
A purely visual mix-up. derive (/dɪˈɹaɪv/) and driven (/ˈdɹɪvn̩/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
derive is recorded at frequency rank #14,737, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈɹaɪv/. driven is at rank #2,787, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdɹɪvn̩/.
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 17524, this pair ranks #450,882 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of derive vs driven
Shared letters: deirv. Private to "derive": -. Private to "driven": n.
"derive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "driven" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "derive" for "driven" ever safe?
Frequency check: "derive" vs "driven" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "derive" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "driven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #450,882 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "derive" and "driven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defile vs derive". 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 #450,882 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.