dreamvsdreamsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dream” and “dreams” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,481
“dream” frequency rank
#24,678
“dreams” frequency rank
37159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dream dreams
Definition Traum Plural des Substantivs dream

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dream and dreams apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dream
6 ch
dreams

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dream ([dɹiːm]) and dreams ([dɹiːmz]) 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) - “dream” sits inside “dreams”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dream is recorded at frequency rank #12,481, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɹiːm]. dreams is at rank #24,678, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dɹiːmz].

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 37159, this pair ranks #1,597,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dream vs dreams

Shared letters: ademr. Private to "dream": -. Private to "dreams": s.

"dream" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "dreams" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dreamddream · deram · draem · dreamm · drema · drream · rdeam
  • dreamsddreams · derams · draems · dreamms · dreamss · dreasm · dremas · drreams

Frequency comparison

dream#12,481
dreams#24,678

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dream" and "dreams" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([dɹiːm] versus [dɹiːmz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dream" or "dreams"?
"dream" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,481 in our German list, against #24,678 for "dreams". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dream vs dreams

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dream” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list