Which to use
“remain” is a noun and “remit” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,574
- “remain” frequency rank
- #25,901
- “remit” frequency rank
- 27475
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | remain | remit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That which is left; relic; remainder. | To transmit or send (e.g. money in payment); to supply. |
Where the eye mixes remain and remit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. remain runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against remit's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: remain vs remit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: remain is /ɹɪˈmeɪn/ while remit is /ɹɪˈmɪt/. 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 27475, 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/. remit is at rank #25,901, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈmɪt/.
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 27475, this pair ranks #378,629 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of remain vs remit
Shared letters: eimr. Private to "remain": an. Private to "remit": t.
"remain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "remit" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "remain" and "remit" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "remain" or "remit"?
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 "remain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "remit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #378,629 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "remain" and "remit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "remit vs Revis". 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 #378,629 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.