Which to use
“Raines” and “ravine” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,864
- “Raines” frequency rank
- #23,965
- “ravine” frequency rank
- 64829
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Raines | ravine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A type of fine linen once imported from France. | A deep narrow valley or gorge in the earth's surface worn by running water. |
Where the eye mixes Raines and ravine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Raines (CVVCVC) and ravine (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Raines with ravine
A purely visual mix-up. Raines (/ɹeɪnz/) and ravine (/ɹəˈviːn/) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Raines is recorded at frequency rank #40,864, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪnz/. ravine is at rank #23,965, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹəˈviːn/.
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 64829, this pair ranks #75,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Raines vs ravine
Shared letters: aeinr. Private to "Raines": s. Private to "ravine": v.
"Raines" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "ravine" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Raines" for "ravine" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Raines" or "ravine"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Raines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ravine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Raines" and "ravine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Raines vs rakes". 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 #75,767 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.