Which to use
“raster” and “router” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,719
- “raster” frequency rank
- #15,046
- “router” frequency rank
- 61765
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raster | router |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A scanning pattern of parallel lines that form the display of an image projected on a cathode-ray tube of a television set or display screen. | Someone who routes or directs items from one location to another. |
Where the eye mixes raster and router
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. raster (CVCCVC) and router (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between raster and router
A purely visual mix-up. raster (/ˈɹæstɚ/) and router (/ˈɹuː.tə(ɹ)/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raster is recorded at frequency rank #46,719, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹæstɚ/. router is at rank #15,046, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹuː.tə(ɹ)/.
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 61765, this pair ranks #92,363 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of raster vs router
Shared letters: ert. Private to "raster": as. Private to "router": ou.
"raster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "router" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raster" for "router" ever safe?
Frequency check: "raster" vs "router" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "raster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "router" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,363 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raster" and "router" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rafter vs raster". 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 #92,363 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.