Which to use
“guess” is a verb and “guys” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #694
- “guess” frequency rank
- #373
- “guys” frequency rank
- 1067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | guess | guys |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To reach a partly (or totally) unconfirmed conclusion; to engage in conjecture; to speculate. | plural of guy |
Where the eye mixes guess and guys
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: guess is /ɡɛs/ while guys is /ɡaɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
guess is recorded at frequency rank #694, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɛs/. guys is at rank #373, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡaɪz/.
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 1067, this pair ranks #528,178 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of guess vs guys
Shared letters: gsu. Private to "guess": e. Private to "guys": y.
"guess" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "guys" · 4 letters · shape CVVC