Which to use
“realm” is a noun and “reap” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,512
- “realm” frequency rank
- #14,394
- “reap” frequency rank
- 20906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | realm | reap |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A territory or state, as ruled by an absolute authority, especially by a king; a kingdom. | To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine |
Where the eye mixes realm and reap
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. realm runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against reap's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: realm vs reap
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: realm is /ɹɛlm/ while reap is /ɹiːp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
realm is recorded at frequency rank #6,512, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɛlm/. reap is at rank #14,394, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹiːp/.
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 20906, this pair ranks #427,809 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of realm vs reap
Shared letters: aer. Private to "realm": lm. Private to "reap": p.
"realm" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "reap" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "realm" for "reap" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "realm" or "reap" show up more?
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 "realm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reap" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,809 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "realm" and "reap" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reap vs Rua". 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 #427,809 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.