Which to use
“receive” and “recite” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,496
- “receive” frequency rank
- #20,200
- “recite” frequency rank
- 21696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | receive | recite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be given, sent, or paid something. | To repeat aloud (some passage, poem or other text previously memorized, or in front of one's eyes), often before an audience. |
Where the eye mixes receive and recite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. receive (/ɹɪˈsiːv/) and recite (/ɹɪˈsaɪt/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
receive is recorded at frequency rank #1,496, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsiːv/. recite is at rank #20,200, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈsaɪt/.
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 21696, this pair ranks #422,036 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of receive vs recite
Shared letters: ceir. Private to "receive": v. Private to "recite": t.
"receive" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "recite" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV