race vs ran, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“race” and “ran” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,436
“race” frequency rank: #24,290
“ran” frequency rank: 38726
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	race	ran
Definition	Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de razar.	Pasado simple (irregular) del verbo (to) run.

Where the eye mixes race and ran

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch

race

3 ch

ran

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. race ([ˈrase]) and ran (/ɹæn/) 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 38726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

race is recorded at frequency rank #14,436, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈrase]. ran is at rank #24,290, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹæn/.

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 38726, this pair ranks #168,410 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of race vs ran

Shared letters: ar. Private to "race": ce. Private to "ran": n.

"race" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ran" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

race ← racce · raec · rase · rcae · rrace

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "race" and "ran" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈrase] versus /ɹæn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "race" or "ran"?

"race" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,436 in our Spanish list, against #24,290 for "ran". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "race" and "ran". Here's where to go from here.

Full dictionary entry for "race" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "ran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #168,410 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"race" and "ran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rajo vs ran". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.