Which to use
“counties” and “counts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,748
- “counties” frequency rank
- #4,436
- “counts” frequency rank
- 9184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | counties | counts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of county | plural of count |
Where the eye mixes counties and counts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: counties vs counts
A purely visual mix-up. counties (/ˈkaʊntiz/) and counts (/kaʊnts/) 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 9184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
counties is recorded at frequency rank #4,748, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaʊntiz/. counts is at rank #4,436, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kaʊnts/.
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 9184, this pair ranks #498,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of counties vs counts
Shared letters: cnostu. Private to "counties": ei. Private to "counts": -.
"counties" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC · "counts" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "counties" and "counts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "counties" vs "counts" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "counties" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "counts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #498,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "counties" and "counts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "counts vs Coutts". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #498,683 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.