keysvskrisTell them apart

Which to use

“keys” and “kris” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,699
“keys” frequency rank
#12,090
“kris” frequency rank
15789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature keys kris
Definition plural of key A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.

Letter map: keys vs kris

Shared letters muted; letters that set keys and kris apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
keys
4 ch
kris

Corpus notes: keys and kris

keys and kris are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

keys is recorded at frequency rank #3,699, classified as anoun, pronounced /kiːz/. kris is at rank #12,090, tagged as anoun.

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 15789, this pair ranks #461,798 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of keys vs kris

Shared letters: ks. Private to "keys": ey. Private to "kris": ir.

"keys" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "kris" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • keysekys · kesy · keyss · keyys · kkeys · kyes
  • kriskirs · kkris · kriss · krris · krsi · rkis

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "keys" and "kris" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary English text, does "keys" or "kris" show up more?
"keys" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,699 in our English list, against #12,090 for "kris". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "keys" and "kris". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "keys" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #461,798 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "keys" and "kris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "knits vs kris". 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 #461,798 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list