Which to use
“sate” and “shat” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,469
- “sate” frequency rank
- #39,557
- “shat” frequency rank
- 88026
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sate | shat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To satisfy the appetite or desire of; to fill up. | simple past and past participle of shit |
Where the eye mixes sate and shat
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sate (CVCV) and shat (CCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: sate vs shat
A purely visual mix-up. sate (/seɪt/) and shat (/ʃæt/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sate is recorded at frequency rank #48,469, classified as averb, pronounced /seɪt/. shat is at rank #39,557, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃæt/.
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 88026, this pair ranks #6,874 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sate vs shat
Shared letters: ast. Private to "sate": e. Private to "shat": h.
"sate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "shat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sate" and "shat" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "sate" or "shat" show up more?
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 "sate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #6,874 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sate" and "shat" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "saki vs sate". 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 #6,874 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.