Which to use
“radio” and “ratio” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,059
- “radio” frequency rank
- #3,837
- “ratio” frequency rank
- 4896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | radio | ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The technology that allows for the transmission of sound or other signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves. | A number representing a comparison between two named things. |
Where the eye mixes radio and ratio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. radio (/ˈɹeɪdiˌəʊ/) and ratio (/ˈɹeɪ.ʃi.əʊ/) 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 - d in “radio” becomes t in “ratio”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
radio is recorded at frequency rank #1,059, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹeɪdiˌəʊ/. ratio is at rank #3,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹeɪ.ʃi.əʊ/.
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 4896, this pair ranks #517,302 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of radio vs ratio
Shared letters: aior. Private to "radio": d. Private to "ratio": t.
"radio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "ratio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV