Which to use
“ruby” and “rue” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,386
- “ruby” frequency rank
- #13,801
- “rue” frequency rank
- 21187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ruby | rue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A clear, deep, red variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone. | Sorrow; repentance; regret. |
Where the eye mixes ruby and rue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ruby with rue
A purely visual mix-up. ruby (/ˈɹuː.bi/) and rue (/ɹuː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ruby is recorded at frequency rank #7,386, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹuː.bi/. rue is at rank #13,801, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹuː/.
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 21187, this pair ranks #425,730 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ruby vs rue
Shared letters: ru. Private to "ruby": by. Private to "rue": e.
"ruby" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "rue" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ruby ← rbuy · rruby · rubby · rubyy · ruyb · urby
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ruby" for "rue" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "ruby" or "rue" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ruby" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,730 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ruby" and "rue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rua vs rue". 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 #425,730 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.