Which to use
“remain” and “remark” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,574
- “remain” frequency rank
- #11,952
- “remark” frequency rank
- 13526
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | remain | remark |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That which is left; relic; remainder. | An act of pointing out or noticing; notice or observation. |
Where the eye mixes remain and remark
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between remain and remark
A purely visual mix-up. remain (/ɹɪˈmeɪn/) and remark (/ɹɪˈmɑɹk/) 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 13526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
remain is recorded at frequency rank #1,574, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmeɪn/. remark is at rank #11,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈmɑɹk/.
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 13526, this pair ranks #475,298 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of remain vs remark
Shared letters: aemr. Private to "remain": in. Private to "remark": k.
"remain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "remark" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "remain" for "remark" ever safe?
Frequency check: "remain" vs "remark" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "remain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "remark" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #475,298 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "remain" and "remark" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rebar vs remark". 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 #475,298 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.