expectvsexportConfusable pair

Quick tell: expect is a verb, export is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“expect” is a verb and “export” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,050
“expect” frequency rank
#4,758
“export” frequency rank
5808
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature expect export
Definition To predict or believe that something will happen Of or relating to exportation or exports.

Letter map: expect vs export

Shared letters muted; letters that set expect and export apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

6 ch
expect
6 ch
export

Role in the sentence - expect and export

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: expect is averb and exportanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

expect is recorded at frequency rank #1,050, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspɛkt/. export is at rank #4,758, tagged as anadj.

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 5808, this pair ranks #513,941 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of expect vs export

Shared letters: eptx. Private to "expect": c. Private to "export": or.

"expect" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "export" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • expectepxect · exepct · expcet · expecct · expectt · expetc · exppect · exxpect
  • exportepxort · exoprt · exporrt · exportt · expotr · expport · exprot · exxport

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "expect" and "export" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "expect" is a verb and "export" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "expect" or "export" show up more?
"expect" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,050 in our English list, against #4,758 for "export". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "expect" and "export". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "expect" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "export" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #513,941 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "expect" and "export" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "export vs exposé". 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 #513,941 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list