resalevsresideWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: resale is a noun, reside is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“resale” is a noun and “reside” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,208
“resale” frequency rank
#11,781
“reside” frequency rank
31989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resale reside
Definition Sale of something previously bought. To dwell permanently or for a considerable time; to have a settled abode for a time; to remain for a long time.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set resale and reside apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
resale
6 ch
reside

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: resale is /ˈriːseɪl/ while reside is /ɹɪˈzaɪd/. 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 31989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resale is recorded at frequency rank #20,208, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈriːseɪl/. reside is at rank #11,781, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈzaɪd/.

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 31989, this pair ranks #341,520 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of resale vs reside

Shared letters: ers. Private to "resale": al. Private to "reside": di.

"resale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "reside" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resaleersale · reasle · resael · resalle · reslae · ressale · rresale · rseale
  • resideerside · reisde · resdie · residde · resied · resside · rreside · rseide

Frequency comparison

resale#20,208
reside#11,781

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "resale" and "reside" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "resale" is a noun and "reside" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "resale" or "reside"?
"reside" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,781 in our English list, against #20,208 for "resale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering resale vs reside

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “resale”; for a verb, it's “reside”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “resale” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list