Which to use
“state” and “states” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,318
- “state” frequency rank
- #24,316
- “states” frequency rank
- 35634
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | state | states |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Estado (situación). | Forma del plural de state. |
Where the eye mixes state and states
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between state and states
A purely visual mix-up. state (/steɪt/) and states (/steɪts/) 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 extra letter(s) - “state” sits inside “states”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
state is recorded at frequency rank #11,318, classified as anoun, pronounced /steɪt/. states is at rank #24,316, tagged as anoun, pronounced /steɪts/.
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 35634, this pair ranks #184,983 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of state vs states
Shared letters: aest. Private to "state": -. Private to "states": -.
"state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "states" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "state" and "states" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "state" vs "states" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "state" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "states" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,983 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "state" and "states" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stands vs states". 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 #184,983 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.