Which to use
“rates” and “roles” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,406
- “rates” frequency rank
- #3,391
- “roles” frequency rank
- 4797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rates | roles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of rate | plural of role |
Where the eye mixes rates and roles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. rates (/ɹeɪts/) and roles (/ɹəʊlz/) 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 4797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rates is recorded at frequency rank #1,406, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪts/. roles is at rank #3,391, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹəʊlz/.
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 4797, this pair ranks #517,638 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rates vs roles
Shared letters: ers. Private to "rates": at. Private to "roles": lo.
"rates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "roles" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC