Which to use
“valid” is an adjective and “value” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,792
- “valid” frequency rank
- #745
- “value” frequency rank
- 4537
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | valid | value |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Well-grounded or justifiable, pertinent. | The quality that renders something desirable or valuable; worth. |
Where the eye mixes valid and value
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses valid with value
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: valid is /ˈvælɪd/ while value is /ˈvæl.juː/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
valid is recorded at frequency rank #3,792, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈvælɪd/. value is at rank #745, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvæl.juː/.
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 4537, this pair ranks #518,598 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of valid vs value
Shared letters: alv. Private to "valid": di. Private to "value": eu.
"valid" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "value" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "valid" and "value" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "valid" vs "value" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "valid" and "value" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "valid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "value" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #518,598 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "valid" and "value" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "value vs vole". 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 #518,598 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.