dinervsdiversWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,384
“diner” frequency rank
#12,407
“divers” frequency rank
27791
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature diner divers
Definition Someone who dines. plural of diver

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set diner and divers apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
diner
6 ch
divers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. diner (/ˈdaɪnə(ɹ)/) and divers (/ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/) 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 27791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

diner is recorded at frequency rank #15,384, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdaɪnə(ɹ)/. divers is at rank #12,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/.

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 27791, this pair ranks #376,082 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of diner vs divers

Shared letters: deir. Private to "diner": n. Private to "divers": sv.

"diner" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "divers" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dinerddiner · dienr · dinerr · dinre · dnier · idner
  • diversddivers · dievrs · diverrs · diverss · divesr · divres · divvers · dviers

Frequency comparison

diner#15,384
divers#12,407

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "diner" and "divers" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdaɪnə(ɹ)/ versus /ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "diner" or "divers"?
"divers" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,407 in our English list, against #15,384 for "diner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering diner vs divers

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “diner” 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