Which to use
“requiem” is a noun and “require” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,940
- “requiem” frequency rank
- #1,736
- “require” frequency rank
- 28676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | requiem | require |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A Mass (especially Catholic) to honor and remember a dead person. | To demand, to insist upon (having); to call for authoritatively. |
Where the eye mixes requiem and require
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses requiem with require
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: requiem is /ˈɹɛ.kwi.əm/ while require is /ɹɪˈkwaɪə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 28676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
requiem is recorded at frequency rank #26,940, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹɛ.kwi.əm/. require is at rank #1,736, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪə/.
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 28676, this pair ranks #369,201 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of requiem vs require
Shared letters: eiqru. Private to "requiem": m. Private to "require": -.
"requiem" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC · "require" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "requiem" and "require" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "requiem" vs "require" - which ranks higher?
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 "requiem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "require" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #369,201 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "requiem" and "require" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "requiem vs requires". 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 #369,201 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.