bulletinvsbulletsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,715
“bulletin” frequency rank
#6,876
“bullets” frequency rank
16591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bulletin bullets
Definition A short report, especially one released through official channels to be immediately broadcast or publicized. plural of bullet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bulletin and bullets apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
bulletin
7 ch
bullets

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bulletin (/ˈbʊl.ə.tən/) and bullets (/ˈbʊl.ɪts/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bulletin is recorded at frequency rank #9,715, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbʊl.ə.tən/. bullets is at rank #6,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbʊl.ɪts/.

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 16591, this pair ranks #456,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bulletin vs bullets

Shared letters: beltu. Private to "bulletin": in. Private to "bullets": s.

"bulletin" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "bullets" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bulletinbbulletin · bluletin · buleltin · buletin · bulleitn · bulletinn · bulletni · bullettin
  • bulletsbbullets · blulets · bulelts · bulets · bullest · bulletss · bulletts · bulltes

Frequency comparison

bulletin#9,715
bullets#6,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bulletin" and "bullets" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈbʊl.ə.tən/ versus /ˈbʊl.ɪts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bulletin" or "bullets"?
"bullets" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,876 in our English list, against #9,715 for "bulletin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bulletin vs bullets

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 “bulletin” 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