Which to use
“skater” and “state” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,207
- “skater” frequency rank
- #163
- “state” frequency rank
- 19370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skater | state |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person who skates. | A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time. |
Where the eye mixes skater and state
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses skater with state
A purely visual mix-up. skater (/ˈskeɪ.tə(ɹ)/) and state (/steɪt/) 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 19370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skater is recorded at frequency rank #19,207, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈskeɪ.tə(ɹ)/. state is at rank #163, tagged as anoun, pronounced /steɪt/.
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 19370, this pair ranks #438,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of skater vs state
Shared letters: aest. Private to "skater": kr. Private to "state": -.
"skater" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "skater" for "state" ever safe?
Which is more common, "skater" or "state"?
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 "skater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "state" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skater" and "state" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seager vs skater". 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 #438,652 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.