Which to use
“can't” is a verb and “cans” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #154
- “can't” frequency rank
- #9,578
- “cans” frequency rank
- 9732
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | can't | cans |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cannot (negative auxiliary); be unable to; not have the ability to (whether due to lacking relevant strength or skill or knowledge or supplies, or due to logical impossibility, etc). | plural of can |
Letter map: can't vs cans
Shared letters muted; letters that set can't and cans apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: can't is averb and cansanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
can't is recorded at frequency rank #154, classified as averb, pronounced /kɑːnt/. cans is at rank #9,578, tagged as anoun.
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 9732, this pair ranks #495,883 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of can't vs cans
Shared letters: acn. Private to "can't": t. Private to "cans": s.
"can't" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cans ← acns · canns · canss · casn · ccans · cnas