Which to use
“vole” and “volta” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,158
- “vole” frequency rank
- #29,885
- “volta” frequency rank
- 75043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vole | volta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of a large number of species of small rodents of the tribes Arvicolini, Ellobiusini, Clethrionomyini, Pliomyini, Phenacomyini and Prometheomyini. | A turning; a time (chiefly used in phrases signifying that the part is to be repeated). |
Where the eye mixes vole and volta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vole and volta
A purely visual mix-up. vole (/vəʊl/) and volta (/ˈvoʊltə/) 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 75043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vole is recorded at frequency rank #45,158, classified as anoun, pronounced /vəʊl/. volta is at rank #29,885, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvoʊltə/.
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 75043, this pair ranks #34,395 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vole vs volta
Shared letters: lov. Private to "vole": e. Private to "volta": at.
"vole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "volta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vole" and "volta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "vole" or "volta"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "volta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,395 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vole" and "volta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vel 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 #34,395 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.