Which to use
“quota” is a noun and “quoted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,389
- “quota” frequency rank
- #5,075
- “quoted” frequency rank
- 19464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quota | quoted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A proportional part or share; the share or proportion assigned to each in a division. | simple past and past participle of quote |
Where the eye mixes quota and quoted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. quota runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against quoted's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses quota with quoted
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quota is /ˈkwəʊtə/ while quoted is /ˈkwəʊtɪd/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19464, 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/. quoted is at rank #5,075, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkwəʊtɪd/.
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 19464, this pair ranks #438,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of quota vs quoted
Shared letters: oqtu. Private to "quota": a. Private to "quoted": de.
"quota" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "quoted" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quota" and "quoted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "quota" vs "quoted" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "quota" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quoted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quota" and "quoted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Quito vs quota". 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
Confusion rank #438,002 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.