Which to use
“gene” and “genes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,883
- “gene” frequency rank
- #5,684
- “genes” frequency rank
- 9567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gene | genes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color. | plural of gene |
Where the eye mixes gene and genes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. gene (/d͡ʒiːn/) and genes (/d͡ʒiːnz/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “gene” sits inside “genes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gene is recorded at frequency rank #3,883, classified as anoun, pronounced /d͡ʒiːn/. genes is at rank #5,684, tagged as anoun, pronounced /d͡ʒiːnz/.
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 9567, this pair ranks #496,752 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gene vs genes
Shared letters: egn. Private to "gene": -. Private to "genes": s.
"gene" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "genes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC