Which to use
“races” and “rate” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,779
- “races” frequency rank
- #752
- “rate” frequency rank
- 4531
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | races | rate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of race | The worth of something; value. |
Where the eye mixes races and rate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. races runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against rate's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: races vs rate
A purely visual mix-up. races (/ˈɹeɪsɪz/) and rate (/ɹeɪt/) 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 4531, 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/. rate is at rank #752, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪt/.
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 4531, this pair ranks #518,618 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of races vs rate
Shared letters: aer. Private to "races": cs. Private to "rate": t.
"races" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "races" for "rate" ever safe?
Frequency check: "races" vs "rate" - 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 "races" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #518,618 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "races" and "rate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rate 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 #518,618 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.