Which to use
“phased” is a verb and “pleased” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,916
- “phased” frequency rank
- #3,384
- “pleased” frequency rank
- 22300
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | phased | pleased |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of phase | Happy, content. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set phased and pleased apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: phased is /feɪzd/ while pleased is /pliːzd/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22300, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
phased is recorded at frequency rank #18,916, classified as averb, pronounced /feɪzd/. pleased is at rank #3,384, tagged as anadj, pronounced /pliːzd/.
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 22300, this pair ranks #417,602 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of phased vs pleased
Shared letters: adeps. Private to "phased": h. Private to "pleased": l.
"phased" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "pleased" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "phased" and "pleased" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "phased" or "pleased"?
Remembering phased vs pleased
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “phased”; for an adjective, it's “pleased”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “phased” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable