Which to use
“explain” and “explained” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,365
- “explain” frequency rank
- #2,535
- “explained” frequency rank
- 3900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | explain | explained |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of. | simple past and past participle of explain |
Where the eye mixes explain and explained
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between explain and explained
A purely visual mix-up. explain (/ɪkˈspleɪn/) and explained (/ɪkˈspleɪnd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “explain” sits inside “explained”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
explain is recorded at frequency rank #1,365, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspleɪn/. explained is at rank #2,535, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspleɪnd/.
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 3900, this pair ranks #520,628 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of explain vs explained
Shared letters: aeilnpx. Private to "explain": -. Private to "explained": d.
"explain" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVVC · "explained" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "explain" and "explained" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "explain" vs "explained" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "explain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explained" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,628 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "explain" and "explained" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exclaim vs explain". 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 #520,628 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.