Which to use
“narrate” and “narrated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,586
- “narrate” frequency rank
- #19,912
- “narrated” frequency rank
- 57498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | narrate | narrated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To relate (a story or series of events) in speech or writing. | simple past and past participle of narrate |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set narrate and narrated apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. narrate (/nəˈɹeɪt/) and narrated (/nəˈɹeɪtɪd/) 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 extra letter(s) - “narrate” sits inside “narrated”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
narrate is recorded at frequency rank #37,586, classified as averb, pronounced /nəˈɹeɪt/. narrated is at rank #19,912, tagged as averb, pronounced /nəˈɹeɪtɪd/.
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 57498, this pair ranks #118,924 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of narrate vs narrated
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "narrate": -. Private to "narrated": d.
"narrate" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "narrated" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "narrate" and "narrated" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "narrate" or "narrated"?
Remembering narrate vs narrated
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 “narrate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable