Which to use
“fifth” is an adjective and “fifths” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,719
- “fifth” frequency rank
- #27,150
- “fifths” frequency rank
- 28869
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fifth | fifths |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The ordinal form of the number five. | plural of fifth |
Where the eye mixes fifth and fifths
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fifth and fifths
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fifth is /fɪfθ/ while fifths is /fɪfθs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fifth” sits inside “fifths”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fifth is recorded at frequency rank #1,719, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɪfθ/. fifths is at rank #27,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɪfθs/.
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 28869, this pair ranks #367,635 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fifth vs fifths
Shared letters: fhit. Private to "fifth": -. Private to "fifths": s.
"fifth" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "fifths" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fifth" for "fifths" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "fifth" or "fifths" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fifth" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fifths" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,635 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fifth" and "fifths" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fifths vs firth". 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 #367,635 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.