modelvsmotelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#775
“model” frequency rank
#12,811
“motel” frequency rank
13586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature model motel
Definition A person who serves as a human template for artwork or fashion. A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles.

Where the eye mixes model and motel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
model
5 ch
motel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. model (/ˈmɒd.l̩/) and motel (/moʊˈtɛl/) 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 a single letter - d in “model” becomes t in “motel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

model is recorded at frequency rank #775, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɒd.l̩/. motel is at rank #12,811, tagged as anoun, pronounced /moʊˈtɛl/.

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 13586, this pair ranks #474,921 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of model vs motel

Shared letters: elmo. Private to "model": d. Private to "motel": t.

"model" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "motel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modelmdoel · mmodel · moddel · modell · modle · moedl · omdel
  • motelmmotel · moetl · motell · motle · mottel · mtoel · omtel

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "model" and "motel" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmɒd.l̩/ versus /moʊˈtɛl/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "model" or "motel"?
"model" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #775 in our English list, against #12,811 for "motel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "model" and "motel". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "model" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "motel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #474,921 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "model" and "motel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "morsel vs motel". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list