# rare vs rife

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### rare
*adjective · IPA /ɹɛ/ · frequency rank #1,772*
Very uncommon; scarce.

### rife
*adjective · IPA /ɹaɪf/ · frequency rank #23,975*
Widespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things).

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