Which to use
“kiss” is a verb and “kisses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,586
- “kiss” frequency rank
- #10,570
- “kisses” frequency rank
- 13156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kiss | kisses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting. | plural of kiss |
Where the eye mixes kiss and kisses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kiss runs 4 letters (CVCC) against kisses's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: kiss vs kisses
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kiss is /kɪs/ while kisses is /ˈkɪsɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “kiss” sits inside “kisses”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kiss is recorded at frequency rank #2,586, classified as averb, pronounced /kɪs/. kisses is at rank #10,570, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɪsɪz/.
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 13156, this pair ranks #477,469 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kiss vs kisses
Shared letters: iks. Private to "kiss": -. Private to "kisses": e.
"kiss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kisses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kiss" and "kisses" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "kiss" or "kisses"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kiss" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kisses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,469 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kiss" and "kisses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kisser vs kisses". 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 #477,469 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.