KeatsvskeysWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Keats is a name, keys is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Keats” is a name and “keys” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,853
“Keats” frequency rank
#3,699
“keys” frequency rank
34552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Keats keys
Definition A surname transferred from the nickname or originating as a patronymic. plural of key

Where the eye mixes Keats and keys

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Keats
4 ch
keys

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Keats is /ˈkiːts/ while keys is /kiːz/. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Keats is recorded at frequency rank #30,853, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈkiːts/. keys is at rank #3,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kiːz/.

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 34552, this pair ranks #319,831 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Keats vs keys

Shared letters: eks. Private to "Keats": at. Private to "keys": y.

"Keats" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "keys" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Keatsekats · kaets · keast · keatss · keatts · ketas · kkeats
  • keysekys · kesy · keyss · keyys · kkeys · kyes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Keats" and "keys" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Keats" is a name and "keys" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Keats" or "keys"?
"keys" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,699 in our English list, against #30,853 for "Keats". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list