RatvsrunWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Rat is a noun, run is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Rat” is a noun and “run” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,067
“Rat” frequency rank
#8,681
“run” frequency rank
45748
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rat run
Definition conselho correr

Where the eye mixes Rat and run

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Rat
3 ch
run

Why the eye confuses Rat with run

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rat is /raːt/ while run is /ˈɹʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rat is recorded at frequency rank #37,067, classified as anoun, pronounced /raːt/. run is at rank #8,681, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹʌn/.

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 45748, this pair ranks #19,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rat vs run

Shared letters: r. Private to "Rat": at. Private to "run": nu.

"Rat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "run" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Rat" and "run" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Rat" is a noun and "run" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Rat" vs "run" - which ranks higher?
"run" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,681 in our Portuguese list, against #37,067 for "Rat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Rat" and "run" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "run" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #19,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rat" and "run" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rabi vs Rat". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #19,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list