Which to use
“races” and “rules” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,779
- “races” frequency rank
- #932
- “rules” frequency rank
- 4711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | races | rules |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of race | plural of rule |
Where the eye mixes races and rules
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between races and rules
A purely visual mix-up. races (/ˈɹeɪsɪz/) and rules (/ˈɹuːlz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4711, 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/. rules is at rank #932, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹuːlz/.
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 4711, this pair ranks #517,947 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of races vs rules
Shared letters: ers. Private to "races": ac. Private to "rules": lu.
"races" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rules" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "races" and "rules" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "races" vs "rules" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "races" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rules" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #517,947 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "races" and "rules" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "races vs rance". 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 #517,947 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.