DaviesvsdevilsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Davies is a name, devils is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Davies” is a name and “devils” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,905
“Davies” frequency rank
#9,734
“devils” frequency rank
17639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Davies devils
Definition A Welsh and English surname originating as a patronymic derived from the given name Davy/Davey/Davie or David. plural of devil

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Davies
6 ch
devils

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Davies and devils form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Davies is recorded at frequency rank #7,905, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈdeɪvɪs/. devils is at rank #9,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɛvl̩z/.

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 17639, this pair ranks #450,130 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Davies#7,905
devils#9,734

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Davies" and "devils" be used interchangeably?
No, "Davies" and "devils" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Davies vs devils

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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