sladevsSlatesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: slade is a noun, Slates is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“slade” is a noun and “Slates” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,065
“slade” frequency rank
#46,781
“Slates” frequency rank
67846
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature slade Slates
Definition A valley, a flat grassy area, a glade. A surname.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set slade and Slates apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
slade
6 ch
Slates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: slade is anoun and Slatesaname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

slade is recorded at frequency rank #21,065, classified as anoun, pronounced /sleɪd/. Slates is at rank #46,781, tagged as aname.

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 67846, this pair ranks #61,505 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of slade vs Slates

Shared letters: aels. Private to "slade": d. Private to "Slates": t.

"slade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Slates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sladelsade · salde · sladde · slaed · sldae · sllade · sslade
  • Slateslsates · saltes · slaets · slatess · slatse · slattes · sllates · sltaes

Frequency comparison

slade#21,065
Slates#46,781

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "slade" and "Slates" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "slade" is a noun and "Slates" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "slade" or "Slates"?
"slade" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,065 in our English list, against #46,781 for "Slates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering slade vs Slates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “slade”; for a name, it's “Slates”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “slade” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list