quotavsquoteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,389
“quota” frequency rank
#2,963
“quote” frequency rank
17352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quota quote
Definition A proportional part or share; the share or proportion assigned to each in a division. A statement attributed to a person; a quotation.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quota and quote apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quota
5 ch
quote

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quota (/ˈkwəʊtə/) and quote (/kwəʊt/) 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 - a in “quota” becomes e in “quote”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quota is recorded at frequency rank #14,389, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwəʊtə/. quote is at rank #2,963, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kwəʊt/.

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 17352, this pair ranks #451,976 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quota vs quote

Shared letters: oqtu. Private to "quota": a. Private to "quote": e.

"quota" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quote" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quotaqouta · qquota · quoat · quotta · qutoa · uqota
  • quoteqoute · qquote · quoet · quotte · qutoe · uqote

Frequency comparison

quota#14,389
quote#2,963

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quota" and "quote" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkwəʊtə/ versus /kwəʊt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quota" or "quote"?
"quote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,963 in our English list, against #14,389 for "quota". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quota vs quote

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 “quota” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list