Which to use
“gates” is a noun and “gratis” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,304
- “gates” frequency rank
- #31,194
- “gratis” frequency rank
- 35498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gates | gratis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of gate | Free: without charge. |
Where the eye mixes gates and gratis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gates vs gratis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gates is /ɡeɪts/ while gratis is /ˈɡɹɑː.tɪs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gates is recorded at frequency rank #4,304, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡeɪts/. gratis is at rank #31,194, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡɹɑː.tɪs/.
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 35498, this pair ranks #311,421 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gates vs gratis
Shared letters: agst. Private to "gates": e. Private to "gratis": ir.
"gates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "gratis" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gates" and "gratis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "gates" or "gratis"?
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 "gates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gratis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,421 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gates" and "gratis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gratis vs grayish". 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 #311,421 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.