Which to use
“remain” is a noun and “remind” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,574
- “remain” frequency rank
- #3,840
- “remind” frequency rank
- 5414
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | remain | remind |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That which is left; relic; remainder. | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
Where the eye mixes remain and remind
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. remain (CVCVVC) and remind (CVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses remain with remind
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: remain is /ɹɪˈmeɪn/ while remind is /ɹəˈmaɪnd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5414, 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/. remind is at rank #3,840, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹəˈmaɪnd/.
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 5414, this pair ranks #515,420 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of remain vs remind
Shared letters: eimnr. Private to "remain": a. Private to "remind": d.
"remain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "remind" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "remain" for "remind" ever safe?
Frequency check: "remain" vs "remind" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "remain" and "remind" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "remain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "remind" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #515,420 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "remain" and "remind" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "remind vs remiss". 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 #515,420 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.