Which to use
“rate” and “rates” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #752
- “rate” frequency rank
- #1,406
- “rates” frequency rank
- 2158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rate | rates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The worth of something; value. | plural of rate |
Where the eye mixes rate and rates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. rate (/ɹeɪt/) and rates (/ɹeɪts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “rate” sits inside “rates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rate is recorded at frequency rank #752, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪt/. rates is at rank #1,406, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪts/.
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 2158, this pair ranks #525,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rate vs rates
Shared letters: aert. Private to "rate": -. Private to "rates": s.
"rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "rates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC