Which to use
“stage” and “states” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #837
- “stage” frequency rank
- #282
- “states” frequency rank
- 1119
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stage | states |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A phase. | plural of state |
Where the eye mixes stage and states
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. stage (/steɪd͡ʒ/) and states (/steɪts/) 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 1119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stage is recorded at frequency rank #837, classified as anoun, pronounced /steɪd͡ʒ/. states is at rank #282, tagged as anoun, pronounced /steɪts/.
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 1119, this pair ranks #528,053 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stage vs states
Shared letters: aest. Private to "stage": g. Private to "states": -.
"stage" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "states" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC