kissvskrisWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,586
“kiss” frequency rank
#12,090
“kris” frequency rank
14676
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kiss kris
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. A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.

Letter map: kiss vs kris

Shared letters muted; letters that set kiss and kris apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

4 ch
kiss
4 ch
kris

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: kiss is averb and krisanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14676, 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/. 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 14676, this pair ranks #468,623 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kiss vs kris

Shared letters: iks. Private to "kiss": -. Private to "kris": r.

"kiss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "kris" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kissikss · kis · kkiss · ksis
  • kriskirs · kkris · kriss · krris · krsi · rkis

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kiss" and "kris" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kiss" is a verb and "kris" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kiss" or "kris"?
"kiss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,586 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list