moneyvsmonkeysWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#210
“money” frequency rank
#8,829
“monkeys” frequency rank
9039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature money monkeys
Definition A generally accepted means of exchange. plural of monkey

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set money and monkeys apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
money
7 ch
monkeys

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. money (/ˈmʌn.i/) and monkeys (/ˈmʌŋkiz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9039, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

money is recorded at frequency rank #210, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌn.i/. monkeys is at rank #8,829, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌŋkiz/.

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 9039, this pair ranks #499,386 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of money vs monkeys

Shared letters: emnoy. Private to "money": -. Private to "monkeys": ks.

"money" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "monkeys" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • moneymmoney · mnoey · moeny · moneyy · monney · monye · omney
  • monkeysmmonkeys · mnokeys · mokneys · monekys · monkesy · monkeyss · monkeyys · monkkeys

Frequency comparison

money#210
monkeys#8,829

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "money" and "monkeys" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmʌn.i/ versus /ˈmʌŋkiz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "money" or "monkeys"?
"money" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #210 in our English list, against #8,829 for "monkeys". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering money vs monkeys

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “money” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list