Which to use
“trace” and “trance” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,277
- “trace” frequency rank
- #15,296
- “trance” frequency rank
- 20573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trace | trance |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An act of tracing. | A dazed or unconscious condition. |
Where the eye mixes trace and trance
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: trace vs trance
A purely visual mix-up. trace (/tɹeɪs/) and trance (/tɹɑːns/) 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 20573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trace is recorded at frequency rank #5,277, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɹeɪs/. trance is at rank #15,296, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɹɑːns/.
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 20573, this pair ranks #430,152 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trace vs trance
Shared letters: acert. Private to "trace": -. Private to "trance": n.
"trace" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "trance" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "trace" for "trance" ever safe?
Frequency check: "trace" vs "trance" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "trace" and "trance" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "trace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trance" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,152 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trace" and "trance" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Thrace vs trance". 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 #430,152 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.