ShakespearevsShakespearesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Shakespeare is a name, Shakespeares is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Shakespeare” is a name and “Shakespeares” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,095
“Shakespeare” frequency rank
#24,925
“Shakespeares” frequency rank
34020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Shakespeare Shakespeares
Definition englischer Dichter, Theaterunternehmer und Schauspieler, dessen Dramen zu den bedeutendsten Werken der Weltliteratur gehören Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Shakespeare

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Shakespeare and Shakespeares apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
Shakespeare
12 ch
Shakespeares

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Shakespeare is [ˈʃɛi̯kspiːɐ̯] while Shakespeares is [ˈʃɛi̯kspiːɐ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Shakespeare” sits inside “Shakespeares”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Shakespeare is recorded at frequency rank #9,095, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈʃɛi̯kspiːɐ̯]. Shakespeares is at rank #24,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛi̯kspiːɐ̯s].

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 34020, this pair ranks #1,672,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Shakespeare vs Shakespeares

Shared letters: aehkprs. Private to "Shakespeare": -. Private to "Shakespeares": -.

"Shakespeare" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCV  ·  "Shakespeares" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Shakespearehsakespeare · sahkespeare · shaekspeare · shakepseare · shakesepare · shakespaere · shakespeaer · shakespearre
  • Shakespeareshsakespeares · sahkespeares · shaekspeares · shakepseares · shakesepares · shakespaeres · shakespeaers · shakespearess

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Shakespeare" and "Shakespeares" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Shakespeare" is a name and "Shakespeares" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Shakespeare" or "Shakespeares"?
"Shakespeare" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,095 in our German list, against #24,925 for "Shakespeares". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list