Which to use
“r” is a character and “red” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #637
- “r” frequency rank
- #3,498
- “red” frequency rank
- 4135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | r | red |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dix-huitième lettre et quatorzième consonne de l’alphabet (minuscule). | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’impératif à la forme active de reden. |
Where the eye mixes r and red
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: r is \ɛʁ\ while red is \ʁeːt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “r” sits inside “red”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
r is recorded at frequency rank #637, classified as acharacter, pronounced \ɛʁ\. red is at rank #3,498, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁeːt\.
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 4135, this pair ranks #432,360 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of r vs red
Shared letters: r. Private to "r": -. Private to "red": de.
"r" · 1 letters · shape C · "red" · 3 letters · shape CVC