Which to use
“raft” and “rap” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,892
- “raft” frequency rank
- #5,907
- “rap” frequency rank
- 21799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raft | rap |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A flat-bottomed craft able to float and drift on water, used for transport or as a waterborne platform. | A sharp blow with something hard. |
Where the eye mixes raft and rap
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between raft and rap
A purely visual mix-up. raft (/ɹɑːft/) and rap (/ɹæp/) 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 21799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raft is recorded at frequency rank #15,892, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɑːft/. rap is at rank #5,907, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹæp/.
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 21799, this pair ranks #421,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of raft vs rap
Shared letters: ar. Private to "raft": ft. Private to "rap": p.
"raft" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "rap" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- raft ← arft · rafft · raftt · ratf · rfat · rraft
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "raft" and "rap" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "raft" or "rap"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "raft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rap" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raft" and "rap" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raft vs rafter". 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 #421,277 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.