Which to use
“skates” and “state” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,972
- “skates” frequency rank
- #163
- “state” frequency rank
- 20135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skates | state |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of skate | A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time. |
Where the eye mixes skates and state
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between skates and state
A purely visual mix-up. skates (/skeɪts/) 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 20135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skates is recorded at frequency rank #19,972, classified as anoun, pronounced /skeɪts/. 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 20135, this pair ranks #433,245 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of skates vs state
Shared letters: aest. Private to "skates": k. Private to "state": -.
"skates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "skates" and "state" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "skates" or "state"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "skates" 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 #433,245 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skates" and "state" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sate vs skates". 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 #433,245 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.