Which to use
“rate” is a noun and “role” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,321
- “rate” frequency rank
- #10,958
- “role” frequency rank
- 41279
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rate | role |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | taxa | primeira pessoa do singular do presente do conjuntivo/subjuntivo do verbo rolar |
Where the eye mixes rate and role
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rate and role
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rate is /ɹeɪt/, SAMPA: /r\eIt/ while role is /ˈxɔ.lɪ/. 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 41279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rate is recorded at frequency rank #30,321, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪt/, SAMPA: /r\eIt/. role is at rank #10,958, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈxɔ.lɪ/.
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 41279, this pair ranks #24,668 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rate vs role
Shared letters: er. Private to "rate": at. Private to "role": lo.
"rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "role" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rate" for "role" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rate" or "role"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "role" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,668 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rate" and "role" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rabi vs rate". 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 #24,668 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.