# ran vs ray

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### ran
*verb · IPA /ɹæn/ · frequency rank #1,437*
simple past of run

### ray
*noun · IPA /ɹeɪ/ · frequency rank #2,087*
A beam of light or radiation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ran-vs-ray