Which to use
“shat” is a verb and “spate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,557
- “shat” frequency rank
- #37,701
- “spate” frequency rank
- 77258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shat | spate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of shit | A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shat and spate apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shat is /ʃæt/ while spate is /speɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shat is recorded at frequency rank #39,557, classified as averb, pronounced /ʃæt/. spate is at rank #37,701, tagged as anoun, pronounced /speɪt/.
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 77258, this pair ranks #27,758 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shat vs spate
Shared letters: ast. Private to "shat": h. Private to "spate": ep.
"shat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "spate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shat" and "spate" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shat" or "spate"?
Remembering shat vs spate
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “shat”; for a noun, it's “spate”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shat” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable