Which to use
“shake” and “skate” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,206
- “shake” frequency rank
- #9,257
- “skate” frequency rank
- 24463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shake | skate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sacudidela, abalo, tremor | prancha dotada de quatro pequenas rodas e dois eixos com a qual se faz malabarismos |
Where the eye mixes shake and skate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between shake and skate
A purely visual mix-up. shake (/'ʃeɪk/) and skate (/ˈskɐjt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shake is recorded at frequency rank #15,206, classified as anoun, pronounced /'ʃeɪk/. skate is at rank #9,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈskɐjt/.
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 24463, this pair ranks #45,153 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shake vs skate
Shared letters: aeks. Private to "shake": h. Private to "skate": t.
"shake" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "skate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shake" and "skate" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shake" or "skate"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "skate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #45,153 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shake" and "skate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shake vs shire". 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 #45,153 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.