Which to use
“reared” and “repaired” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,572
- “reared” frequency rank
- #10,119
- “repaired” frequency rank
- 36691
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reared | repaired |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of rear | simple past and past participle of repair |
Where the eye mixes reared and repaired
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reared with repaired
A purely visual mix-up. reared (/ɹɪɹd/) and repaired (/ɹɪˈpɛɹd/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reared is recorded at frequency rank #26,572, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪɹd/. repaired is at rank #10,119, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɛɹd/.
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 36691, this pair ranks #301,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reared vs repaired
Shared letters: ader. Private to "reared": -. Private to "repaired": ip.
"reared" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "repaired" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reared" for "repaired" ever safe?
Which is more common, "reared" or "repaired"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reared" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repaired" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reared" and "repaired" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "readied vs reared". 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 #301,001 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.