ratevsrateroWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#37,820
“rate” frequency rank
#42,650
“ratero” frequency rank
80470
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rate ratero
Definition Bazo. Persona que tiene por costumbre el apropiarse de cosas que no le pertenecen.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rate and ratero apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
rate
6 ch
ratero

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rate is /ʁat/ while ratero is [raˈt̪eɾo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “rate” sits inside “ratero”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rate is recorded at frequency rank #37,820, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʁat/. ratero is at rank #42,650, tagged as anadj, pronounced [raˈt̪eɾo].

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 80470, this pair ranks #11,611 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rate vs ratero

Shared letters: aert. Private to "rate": -. Private to "ratero": o.

"rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "ratero" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rateraet · ratte · rrate
  • rateroartero · raetro · rateor · raterro · ratreo · rattero · rratero · rtaero

Frequency comparison

rate#37,820
ratero#42,650

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rate" and "ratero" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rate" is a noun and "ratero" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rate" or "ratero"?
"rate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,820 in our Spanish list, against #42,650 for "ratero". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rate vs ratero

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “rate”; for an adjective, it's “ratero”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rate” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list