Which to use
“rain” and “ran” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,061
- “rain” frequency rank
- #24,290
- “ran” frequency rank
- 42351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rain | ran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Llover. | Pasado simple (irregular) del verbo (to) run. |
Where the eye mixes rain and ran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rain vs ran
A purely visual mix-up. rain (/ɹeɪn/) 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 42351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rain is recorded at frequency rank #18,061, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹeɪn/. 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 42351, this pair ranks #148,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rain vs ran
Shared letters: anr. Private to "rain": i. Private to "ran": -.
"rain" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "ran" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rain ← arin · rainn · rani · rian · rrain
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rain" for "ran" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rain" or "ran"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "rain" and "ran" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "rain" 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 #148,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rain" 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
Confusion rank #148,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.