Which to use
“raid” is a noun and “ran” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,253
- “raid” frequency rank
- #1,437
- “ran” frequency rank
- 6690
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raid | ran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A quick hostile or predatory incursion or invasion in a battle. | simple past of run |
Where the eye mixes raid and ran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses raid with ran
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: raid is /ɹeɪd/ while ran is /ɹæn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raid is recorded at frequency rank #5,253, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪd/. ran is at rank #1,437, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹæn/.
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 6690, this pair ranks #510,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of raid vs ran
Shared letters: ar. Private to "raid": di. Private to "ran": n.
"raid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "ran" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- raid ← radi · raidd · riad · rraid
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "raid" and "ran" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "raid" or "ran"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "raid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #510,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raid" and "ran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raid vs rood". 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 #510,387 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.