# stained vs started

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### stained
*adjective · IPA /steɪnd/ · frequency rank #9,822*
having a stain

### started
*verb · IPA [ˈstɑɹɾɪd] · frequency rank #405*
simple past and past participle of start

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stained-vs-started