journeyvsjourneysWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: journey is a noun, journeys is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“journey” is a noun and “journeys” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,256
“journey” frequency rank
#12,625
“journeys” frequency rank
14881
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature journey journeys
Definition A set amount of travelling, seen as a single unit; a discrete trip, a voyage. third-person singular simple present indicative of journey

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set journey and journeys apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
journey
8 ch
journeys

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: journey is anoun and journeysaverb. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “journey” sits inside “journeys”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

journey is recorded at frequency rank #2,256, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɝni/. journeys is at rank #12,625, tagged as averb.

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 14881, this pair ranks #467,397 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of journey vs journeys

Shared letters: ejnoruy. Private to "journey": -. Private to "journeys": s.

"journey" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV  ·  "journeys" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • journeyjjourney · joruney · jounrey · joureny · journeyy · journney · journye · jourrney
  • journeysjjourneys · joruneys · jounreys · jourenys · journesy · journeyss · journeyys · journneys

Frequency comparison

journey#2,256
journeys#12,625

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "journey" and "journeys" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "journey" is a noun and "journeys" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "journey" or "journeys"?
"journey" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,256 in our English list, against #12,625 for "journeys". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering journey vs journeys

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “journey”; for a verb, it's “journeys”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “journey” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list