Which to use
“quark” and “quart” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,258
- “quark” frequency rank
- #28,679
- “quart” frequency rank
- 55937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quark | quart |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In the Standard Model, one of a number of elementary subatomic particles having fractional electric charge that forms matter. They are theorized not to exist in isolation, but only in combinations in hadrons such as neutrons and protons or in quark–gluon plasmas. | A unit of liquid capacity equal to two pints; one-fourth (quarter) of a gallon. Equivalent to 1.136 liters in the UK and 0.946 liter (liquid quart) or 1.101 liters (dry quart) in the U.S. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quark and quart apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
quark and quart form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - k in “quark” becomes t in “quart” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quark is recorded at frequency rank #27,258, classified as anoun, pronounced /kwɑːk/. quart is at rank #28,679, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kwɔːt/.
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 55937, this pair ranks #129,860 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "quark" and "quart" be used interchangeably?
Remembering quark vs quart
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 “quark” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable