Which to use
“races” and “rake” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,779
- “races” frequency rank
- #17,699
- “rake” frequency rank
- 21478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | races | rake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of race | A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. |
Where the eye mixes races and rake
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: races vs rake
A purely visual mix-up. races (/ˈɹeɪsɪz/) and rake (/ɹeɪk/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
races is recorded at frequency rank #3,779, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹeɪsɪz/. rake is at rank #17,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪk/.
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 21478, this pair ranks #423,611 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of races vs rake
Shared letters: aer. Private to "races": cs. Private to "rake": k.
"races" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "races" for "rake" ever safe?
Frequency check: "races" vs "rake" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "races" and "rake" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "races" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #423,611 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "races" and "rake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rake vs Rhee". 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 #423,611 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.