Which to use
“tries” is a noun and “trite” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,868
- “tries” frequency rank
- #37,261
- “trite” frequency rank
- 40129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tries | trite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of try | Often in reference to a word or phrase: used so many times that it is commonplace, or no longer interesting or effective; worn out, hackneyed. |
Where the eye mixes tries and trite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tries (CCVVC) and trite (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses tries with trite
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tries is /tɹaɪz/ while trite is /tɹaɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tries is recorded at frequency rank #2,868, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɹaɪz/. trite is at rank #37,261, tagged as anadj, pronounced /tɹaɪt/.
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 40129, this pair ranks #270,430 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tries vs trite
Shared letters: eirt. Private to "tries": s. Private to "trite": -.
"tries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "trite" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tries" for "trite" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tries" or "trite"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tries" and "trite" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tries" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #270,430 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tries" and "trite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs trite". 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 #270,430 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.