Which to use
“keep” is a verb and “key” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,505
- “keep” frequency rank
- #18,292
- “key” frequency rank
- 44797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keep | key |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Guardar. | Llave. |
Where the eye mixes keep and key
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: keep vs key
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keep is /kip/ while key is [kiː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keep is recorded at frequency rank #26,505, classified as averb, pronounced /kip/. key is at rank #18,292, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kiː].
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 44797, this pair ranks #135,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of keep vs key
Shared letters: ek. Private to "keep": p. Private to "key": y.
"keep" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "key" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- keep ← ekep · keepp · kep · kepe · kkeep
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "keep" and "key" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "keep" vs "key" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "keep" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "key" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keep" and "key" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "keen vs keep". 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 #135,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.