ratevsravenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,820
“rate” frequency rank
#28,136
“raven” frequency rank
65956
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rate raven
Definition Bazo. Cuervo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rate and raven apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
rate
5 ch
raven

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rate (/ʁat/) and raven (/ˈreɪvən/) 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 65956, 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/. raven is at rank #28,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈreɪvən/.

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 65956, this pair ranks #41,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rate vs raven

Shared letters: aer. Private to "rate": t. Private to "raven": nv.

"rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "raven" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rateraet · ratte · rrate
  • ravenarven · raben · raevn · ravenn · ravne · ravven · rraven · rvaen

Frequency comparison

rate#37,820
raven#28,136

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rate" and "raven" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ʁat/ versus /ˈreɪvən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rate" or "raven"?
"raven" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,136 in our Spanish list, against #37,820 for "rate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rate vs raven

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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