Which to use
“rooted” is an adjective and “routed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,395
- “rooted” frequency rank
- #19,442
- “routed” frequency rank
- 28837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rooted | routed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having roots, or a certain type of roots. | simple past and past participle of route |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rooted and routed apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: rooted and routed carry the same recorded pronunciation, /ˈɹuːtɪd/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - o in “rooted” becomes u in “routed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rooted is recorded at frequency rank #9,395, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɹuːtɪd/. routed is at rank #19,442, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹuː.tɪd/.
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 28837, this pair ranks #367,906 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rooted vs routed
Shared letters: deort. Private to "rooted": -. Private to "routed": u.
"rooted" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "routed" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rooted" and "routed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "rooted" or "routed"?
Remembering rooted vs routed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “rooted”; for a verb, it's “routed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rooted” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable