apes vs apples, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“apes” and “apples” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,951
“apes” frequency rank: #7,522
“apples” frequency rank: 23473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	apes	apples
Definition	plural of ape	plural of apple

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

apes

6 ch

apples

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. apes (/eɪps/) and apples (/ˈæp.(ə)lz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apes is recorded at frequency rank #15,951, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪps/. apples is at rank #7,522, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæp.(ə)lz/.

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 23473, this pair ranks #409,009 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of apes vs apples

Shared letters: aeps. Private to "apes": -. Private to "apples": l.

"apes" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "apples" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

apes ← aeps · apess · appes · apse
apples ← aples · aplpes · appels · appless · applles · applse · paples

Frequency comparison

apes#15,951

apples#7,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apes" and "apples" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/eɪps/ versus /ˈæp.(ə)lz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "apes" or "apples"?

"apples" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,522 in our English list, against #15,951 for "apes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apes vs apples

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 “apes” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable