racevsrawWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: race is a verb, raw is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“race” is a verb and “raw” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,436
“race” frequency rank
#22,477
“raw” frequency rank
36913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature race raw
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de razar. Crudo.

Where the eye mixes race and raw

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

4 ch
race
3 ch
raw

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: race is [ˈrase] while raw is /ɹɔː/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36913, 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]. raw is at rank #22,477, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɹɔː/.

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 36913, this pair ranks #178,115 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of race vs raw

Shared letters: ar. Private to "race": ce. Private to "raw": w.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raceracce · raec · rase · rcae · rrace

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "race" and "raw" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "race" is a verb and "raw" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "race" or "raw"?
"race" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,436 in our Spanish list, against #22,477 for "raw". 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 "raw". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "race" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "raw" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #178,115 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "race" and "raw" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rajo vs raw". 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list