Which to use
“rake” is a noun and “retake” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,699
- “rake” frequency rank
- #20,209
- “retake” frequency rank
- 37908
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rake | retake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. | To take something again. |
Where the eye mixes rake and retake
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rake vs retake
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rake is /ɹeɪk/ while retake is /ɹiːˈteɪk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 37908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rake is recorded at frequency rank #17,699, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪk/. retake is at rank #20,209, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈteɪk/.
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 37908, this pair ranks #290,465 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rake vs retake
Shared letters: aekr. Private to "rake": -. Private to "retake": t.
"rake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "retake" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rake" and "retake" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "rake" vs "retake" - 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 "rake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,465 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rake" and "retake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rake vs Rhee". 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 #290,465 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.