Which to use
“said” and “says” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #100
- “said” frequency rank
- #310
- “says” frequency rank
- 410
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | said | says |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of say | third-person singular simple present indicative of say |
Where the eye mixes said and says
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. said (/sɛd/) and says (/sɛz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
said is recorded at frequency rank #100, classified as averb, pronounced /sɛd/. says is at rank #310, tagged as averb, pronounced /sɛz/.
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 410, this pair ranks #529,464 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of said vs says
Shared letters: as. Private to "said": di. Private to "says": y.
"said" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "says" · 4 letters · shape CVVC