kindle vs kinds, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#9,490
“kindle” frequency rank: #2,951
“kinds” frequency rank: 12441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kindle	kinds
Definition	To start (a fire) or light (a torch, a match, coals, etc.).	plural of kind

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kindle and kinds apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

kindle

5 ch

kinds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kindle is /ˈkɪn.dəl/ while kinds is /kaɪndz/. 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 12441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kindle is recorded at frequency rank #9,490, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkɪn.dəl/. kinds is at rank #2,951, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kaɪndz/.

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 12441, this pair ranks #481,559 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kindle vs kinds

Shared letters: dikn. Private to "kindle": el. Private to "kinds": s.

"kindle" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "kinds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

kindle ← ikndle · kidnle · kinddle · kindel · kindlle · kinlde · kinndle · kkindle
kinds ← iknds · kidns · kindds · kindss · kinnds · kinsd · kkinds · knids

Frequency comparison

kindle#9,490

kinds#2,951

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kindle" and "kinds" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kindle" is a verb and "kinds" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "kindle" or "kinds"?

"kinds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,951 in our English list, against #9,490 for "kindle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kindle vs kinds

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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