raidvsruinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: raid is a noun, ruin is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“raid” is a noun and “ruin” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,370
“raid” frequency rank
#30,659
“ruin” frequency rank
58029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature raid ruin
Definition Incursión o ataque realizado con rapidez y sin previo aviso por una fuerza militar o de seguridad. Que por su bajeza merece el desprecio.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set raid and ruin apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
raid
4 ch
ruin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: raid is [ˈrajð̞] while ruin is [ˈrwĩn]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

raid is recorded at frequency rank #27,370, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈrajð̞]. ruin is at rank #30,659, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈrwĩn].

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 58029, this pair ranks #68,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of raid vs ruin

Shared letters: ir. Private to "raid": ad. Private to "ruin": nu.

"raid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "ruin" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raidarid · radi · raidd · rraid
  • ruinriun · rruin · ruinn · runi · urin

Frequency comparison

raid#27,370
ruin#30,659

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "raid" and "ruin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "raid" is a noun and "ruin" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "raid" or "ruin"?
"raid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,370 in our Spanish list, against #30,659 for "ruin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering raid vs ruin

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “raid”; for an adjective, it's “ruin”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “raid” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list