WantvswantsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,000
“Want” frequency rank
#49,376
“wants” frequency rank
61376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Want wants
Definition „Seil oder Stange zur seitlichen Verspannung eines Masts“ 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs want

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Want and wants apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Want
5 ch
wants

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Want is anoun and wantsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Want” sits inside “wants”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Want is recorded at frequency rank #12,000, classified as anoun, pronounced [vant]. wants is at rank #49,376, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 61376, this pair ranks #752,183 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Want vs wants

Shared letters: antw. Private to "Want": -. Private to "wants": s.

"Want" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "wants" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wantawnt · wannt · wantt · watn · wnat · wwant
  • wantsawnts · wannts · wanst · wantss · wantts · watns · wnats · wwants

Frequency comparison

Want#12,000
wants#49,376

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Want" and "wants" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Want" is a noun and "wants" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Want" or "wants"?
"Want" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,000 in our German list, against #49,376 for "wants". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Want vs wants

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Want”; for a verb, it's “wants”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Want” 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