Which to use
“don't” is a verb and “don'ts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #68
- “don't” frequency rank
- #39,300
- “don'ts” frequency rank
- 39368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | don't | don'ts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | do not (negative auxiliary). | plural of don't |
Letter map: don't vs don'ts
Shared letters muted; letters that set don't and don'ts apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: don't is averb and don'tsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “don't” sits inside “don'ts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
don't is recorded at frequency rank #68, classified as averb, pronounced /dəʊnt/. don'ts is at rank #39,300, 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 39368, this pair ranks #277,348 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of don't vs don'ts
Shared letters: dnot. Private to "don't": -. Private to "don'ts": s.
"don't" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "don'ts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC