Which to use
“grays” and “grins” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,740
- “grays” frequency rank
- #36,164
- “grins” frequency rank
- 71904
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grays | grins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of gray | plural of grin |
Where the eye mixes grays and grins
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. grays (CCVVC) and grins (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses grays with grins
A purely visual mix-up. grays (/ɡɹeɪz/) and grins (/ɡɹɪnz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grays is recorded at frequency rank #35,740, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹeɪz/. grins is at rank #36,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹɪnz/.
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 71904, this pair ranks #44,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of grays vs grins
Shared letters: grs. Private to "grays": ay. Private to "grins": in.
"grays" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "grins" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "grays" for "grins" ever safe?
Which is more common, "grays" or "grins"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "grays" and "grins" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "grays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grins" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grays" and "grins" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grasse vs grays". 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 #44,945 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.